Category: Individual Disability Claims

It can be somewhat confusing for most people to determine whether their long-term disability insurance benefits are taxable. Disability benefits may or may not be taxable depending who made the premium payments and whether those payments are deductible. Social Security disability insurance (SDDI) benefits may be taxable; the IRS provides further explanation of when these […]

Google and the Internet are making it easier for healthcare consumers to access virtual medical options, which is crucial at a time when shelter in place orders are keeping hundreds of millions of people indoors. Searches and maps have been made available by Google which is also working to help doctors get up to speed […]

Individual or group long-term disability (LTD) insurance is designed to protect a portion of your income, as defined in your policy, if you suffer an injury or illness that leaves you unable to work. If you are self-employed or an independent contractor, you may have an individual long-term disability policy that you purchased from an […]

So, you filed a valid claim for individual or group long-term disability insurance benefits. During the disability claim process, you provided documentation from multiple doctors, hospitals, and pharmacies describing the nature of your injury or illness, all of your restrictions and limitations, plus pharmacy records, physical therapist or mental health counselor evaluations, and more. Unfortunately, […]

Private, for-profit corporations generally deliver individual and group long-term disability insurance benefits. Thus, every disability insurance policy contract is ultimately designed to protect the issuing disability insurance company’s bottom line. Essential disability benefits are the same under most individual or group long-term disability insurance plans—that is, you should receive income-replacement payments if you are sick […]

Individual and Group Disability Insurance Definitions: The Layperson v. The Legal Terms Helping Beneficiaries Understand Their Confusing Individual and Group Disability Insurance Policies What comes to mind when you think of the term disability? Do you see someone in a wheelchair, with a guide dog, or walking with an aid? Webster’s defines “disability” as “a […]

A settlement was reached in a California insurance lawsuit filed against Anthem Blue Cross, the Los Angeles City Attorney announced, alleging the insurance company illegally canceled coverage for more than 6,000 policyholders, denying them their individual disability claims and individual disability insurance policies. The lawsuit was filed in 2008 and initially sought more than $1 […]

A common thread among individual and group disability insurance policies, particularly for private insurers, is the explicit or implicit requirement of physicality for disability claim approvals. Sometimes, this requirement is made explicit by the policy’s language, which may categorically exclude mental disorders and conditions. Other times, this need to list a physical illness or injury […]

Individuals who are eligible to receive long term disability insurance should be aware that any benefits received from other income sources could seriously reduce their monthly disability benefits. Offsets are policy provisions that permit your insurer to deduct other sources of income you are receiving or are eligible to receive due to your disability. These […]

We recently explored five common causes of disability claims in honor of Disability Insurance Awareness Month. As we discussed in part one of this series, many Americans have misconceptions about what legally qualifies as a disabling sickness or illness. The Council for Disability Awareness reports that one in three women and one in four men […]