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Disability can occur due to various factors, ranging from genetic conditions to injuries and illnesses. Some disabilities impair major life functions but still allow individuals to keep working. Others don’t. Individuals who can’t support themselves may decide that...
Long-term disability benefits are a common inclusion in professional compensation packages. Employers offer staff members disability insurance in addition to health coverage and paid time off to supplement their base wages. There are also some adults who invest in...
You’ve applied for a long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy at work, or you’ve contacted a broker and purchased one on your own, figuring it will provide protection against something you never expect will happen, such as a mental or physical condition that makes it impossible for you to carry out your duties at work. You understand that should a disabling…
Suppose you’ve come down with a mental or physical condition that makes it impossible for you to continue in your job, so you turn to your long-term disability (LTD) to make a claim for benefits. The insurance company requires your doctor to complete an attending physician’s statement (APS) as part of the claims process, but your doctor is reluctant or…
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. These policies are often underwritten by the nation’s largest insurance companies, such as Unum, MetLife, MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual, Guardian Life, and more. The…
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. Being on the insurer’s…
Long-term disability (LTD) policies can contain a variety of definitions, clauses, exclusions, and other “fine print” that can come back to haunt the policyholder when a disability prevents them from working. Two very frequent definitions contained in an LTD policy are “own occupation” and “any occupation.” Some disability policies may only cover you if you are unable to work at…
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the nation’s economy and its workers were thrust into strange new territories – businesses closing, layoffs carried out, work-at-home arrangements established, masks mandated, social distancing enforced, people ordered to stay at home, and of course, millions of citizens falling ill to the virus and hundreds of thousands dying. While many of…
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. When it comes to its long-term disability (LTD) policies, however, the company has a well-known track record of denying claims. MetLife offers its…
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). For this reason, many working adults buy long-term disability (LTD) policies, whether through a benefit offered at work…
