BLOG

About 40 to 50 percent of employers in the United States offer long-term disability (LTD) insurance policies that promise to provide benefits should a physical or mental condition prevent you from performing the duties of your job.

Insurance companies are for-profit institutions. As such, they don't always automatically accept a claim for disability payments. They can put up a variety of roadblocks, one of which is termed an Independent Medical Review (IMR) by a team of physicians on the insurer’s payroll who review the documentation you submit to support your long-term disability claim.

You may receive a letter announcing a “change of definition,” which means that your own occupation period has ended and any occupation period has commenced. You’re facing the elimination of your benefits and being forced back into the workforce at any job for which you are suited. What can you do?

Many so-called COVID “long-haulers” are still suffering symptoms months later that make it hard or even impossible for them to carry out the duties of a daily job. The question is – can they qualify for disability benefits since the COVID symptoms are making it mostly impossible to work a daily job?

MetLife is a venerable institution in the world of insurance. Founded in 1868 as the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, MetLife now has 90 million customers in 60 countries and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

One in every four Americans entering the workforce will face a disabling condition at least once before retirement, and the average time away from work to deal with the condition is almost three years, according to the Council for Disability Awareness (CDA).

The Hartford is a $20 billion, Fortune 500 company that was originally founded in 1810 to offer fire insurance. Even legendary baseball star Babe Ruth once purchased a Hartford policy.

According to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), roughly 3.5 in every 1,000 Americans develop Multiple Sclerosis, commonly referred to as MS. MS is neither contagious nor hereditary, according to the MSAA, but the risk of developing MS increases for first-degree relatives – children and siblings – of those already suffering from the disease.

Employees may receive a letter denying benefits for several reasons, usually based on what the insurers call “lack of sufficient medical evidence.” Now what?  What can be done when an employee faces a total loss of income while trying to recover from your disability?

You’ve been diagnosed with cancer, or you’re undergoing treatment for cancer that has debilitating side effects. What are your chances of obtaining long-term disability benefits while you recover?