Disability Insurance Lawyer for Claimants in Columbus

Dabdoub Law Firm is comprised of a team of experienced disability insurance lawyers. Managing disability claims and taking on insurance companies for our clients is all we do. There are no distractions.

You can count on us to take care of every step of your long term disability insurance claim. As long as you need us, we will be there to help. Throughout the years, we have encountered every major insurance company and succeeded.

What is Long-Term Disability?

Long-term disability insurance (LTD) is a type of insurance policy designed to provide financial protection to individuals who are unable to work for an extended period due to a covered disability. Unlike short-term disability insurance, which typically covers disabilities lasting up to a year, long-term disability insurance provides coverage for more extended periods, potentially until retirement age if necessary.

The benefits provided by long-term disability insurance are usually a percentage of the policyholder's pre-disability income, often around 50-60%, although this can vary depending on the policy. These benefits are paid out on a regular basis, such as monthly, to help replace lost income due to the disability.

Long-term disability insurance typically begins to provide benefits after a waiting period, which can range from 30 days to several months. This waiting period is also known as the elimination period. Once the elimination period has passed, the policyholder becomes eligible to receive benefits if they remain disabled.

Long-term disability insurance policies typically define disability in one of two ways:

• Own Occupation: This definition considers you disabled if you're unable to perform the duties of your own occupation. This is generally more favorable for the policyholder because it recognizes the specific skills and training required for their particular job.
• Any Occupation: Under this definition, you're considered disabled if you're unable to perform the duties of any occupation for which you're reasonably qualified by education, training, or experience. This definition is more stringent and may make it harder to qualify for benefits.

The duration of long-term disability benefits varies depending on the policy terms. Some policies provide benefits until the policyholder reaches retirement age, while others have a specified benefit period, such as two years, five years, or until age 65.

The cost of long-term disability insurance premiums depends on factors such as age, health, occupation, benefit amount, and waiting period. Premiums are usually paid monthly or annually.

Columbus Disability Insurance Claims

Most people living in Columbus, Ohio are getting their disability insurance coverage from their employer. Some of the largest employers in Columbus include Cardinal Health Inc. Pharmaceuticals company, OhioHealth, and United Healthcare. If you work for these companies or most others in the city, then you probably have group insurance disability coverage. Insurance companies that may have sold such a policy to your employer include Hartford, Lincoln Financial, Reliance Standard, etc.

You might instead have disability insurance through an individual disability policy sold by companies like UNUM, MetLife, and more. Physicians typically have disability insurance that insurers their ability to work in their own occupation, such as an interventional cardiologist, emergency room physician or many other medical specialties.

Most disability insurance claims are governed by federal ERISA law. Because this law tends to heavily favor insurance companies, we see disability claims being denied or delayed for false reasons. Some of the tactics used to delay approval of disability claims is requesting the same information over and again or the insurance company may claim it has not received medical records or attending physician statements from your doctor when it was already sent.

Disability insurance companies may also want to send claimants to what it calls an independent medical examination or IME, but it is not truly independent because this examination is done by a doctor chosen and paid for by the company. It is best to consult with a long-term disability attorney before going to any examination scheduled by your disability company.

Disability Insurance Companies Have Experienced Disability Insurance Lawyers — Shouldn’t You?

As a law firm created to focus on disability insurance, we have fought all major disability insurance companies and have won several major disability lawsuits. All our lawyers commit every day of their legal career to helping people get disability benefits from UNUM, MetLife, Prudential, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and other insurance companies. Because federal law applies to most disability insurance claims, we do not have to be located in your state to help. We help clients nationwide.

Call to get experienced disability lawyers on your side with:

• Submitting a disability insurance claim
• Appealing a long-term disability denial
• Negotiating a lump-sum settlement
• Filing a lawsuit against your disability insurance company

Call (800) 969-0488 for a free consultation with a Columbus disability attorney.