Long-Term Disability Through Employer vs. Individual Plans in WI
How to Understand Long-Term Disability & Get Full Benefits
You knew you had a long-term disability insurance policy. You hoped you’d never have to use it. When you face a work-stopping health crisis, you’re grateful it’s there.
The income replacement you get through long-term disability shields you from a personal finance crisis, letting you hold on to your savings, retirement, home, and the life you worked hard to build.
Like with all kinds of insurance, though, long-term disability is difficult to deal with. They may deny your benefits or shortchange you.
When you need to make a claim, you’ll need to understand the differences between the two major types of plans: long-term disability through employers vs. individual plans.
- Employer Plans: Long-term disability through your job is a great employee benefit to have. It may be relatively inexpensive. Your employer may be picking up some of the cost.
- Individual Plains: If you’re self-employed or wanted to supplement what you get through a work plan, you may have taken out an individual long-term disability policy. It costs more than an employer plan, but you can also customize your coverage more.
You can talk to a long-term disability insurance attorney to make sure you’re getting the maximum benefits you should from the coverage you paid for.
In Wisconsin, the long-term disability lawyers at Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel have helped thousands of people secure their lives with disability benefits.
How Does Long-Term Disability Work? Employer vs. Individual Plans.
There are some big differences between employer and individual disability insurance plans.
Long-Term Disability You Get Through Work
- Lower premiums than plans you buy yourself.
- Payments are more restricted, typically between 50% to 75% of your salary.
- Benefits may be shorter, sometimes hitting a two-year limit.
- Stricter definition of what qualifies for benefits. For example, are you only limited from doing your own job, or from doing any job?
- Governed by a federal law called the “Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).”
- Policy doesn’t continue when you switch jobs.
- If you’re denied benefits, it requires you to finish the insurance company’s appeals process before you can file a lawsuit.
- If you need to file a lawsuit, it must be in federal court.
Individual Disability Insurance
- You chose and bought a policy on your own.
- The premiums are more expensive than group plans.
- Allows you to adjust the level of coverage.
- May pay a higher percentage of your income from work.
- May award benefits just for being unable to continue in your past work, not requiring you to prove you can’t work any job.
- May last longer, sometimes to retirement.
- Governed by state laws and the contract you have with the insurance company.
- If they fail to uphold their obligations, you may be able to take your case to court sooner.
- If you go to court, it would be a state court.
If you’re running into resistance from your disability insurance company, a long-term disability attorney can study your policy and help you enforce what you’re entitled to receive.
Have the Wisconsin long-term disability lawyers at Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel take a look your case for FREE.
How Your Long-Term Disability Insurance Attorney Helps You Manage Your Claim
Your long-term disability insurance company could reject your benefits. They could award less than you believe you should get. Or they could pay benefits for a while, then cut them off.
A long-term disability lawyer who deals with these companies and cases as their profession protects your legal rights and your ability to maximize your benefits and financial security.
Unless you worked in the industry, you can’t be expected to be an insurance expert. This is how a lawyer who knows this system helps you deal with it:
- Gathering medical records confirming the severity of your health problems, including getting special exams and reports from medical experts.
- Making sure your claim has complete information from an early stage, improving your chances later during an appeal.
- Keeping watch so you don’t miss insurance company deadlines they use to cancel your claim.
- Corresponding and negotiating with the insurance company—simply telling them you’re appealing isn’t enough to get fair consideration.
- Protecting your rights under ERISA and state laws.
- Countering the insurance company tactics we’ve often seen to delay and deny claims.
- Analyzing their rejection so you can sharpen your appeal.
- Studying settlement offers so you don’t give up more than you should in an agreement.
- Taking your case to court if needed.
- Acting as your advocate throughout the process.
Getting your rightful benefits under your long-term disability insurance policy can make a major difference in your financial security and future.
You want your claim to get the full support it deserves. You want to know that you did everything possible to get what you need after a life-changing health problem.
Get the skilled Wisconsin long-term disability attorneys at Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel to back up your claim.