Employer Or Group Disability Insurance
Dabdoub Law Firm Working to Protect Disabled Employees
Most people get their disability insurance from work. These are group disability insurance policies that cover employees of a company. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is the law that applies to most group disability policies.
ERISA is a unique area of the law. If you have a disability claim, you should know your rights and obligations under ERISA. Our disability attorneys focus only on representing people with disability claims, disability appeals, and lawsuits for disability benefits.
Understanding Eligibility for Disability Benefits
Generally, an employee has both short-term disability (STD) benefits and long-term disability (LTD) benefits from work. Short-term disability policies usually pay a disability benefit for 26 weeks. Long-term disability may be available to those who are still cannot go back to work because of a medical condition. Long-term disability begins after short-term disability benefits have been exhausted. Long-term disability benefits are paid every month, for as long as the person remains disabled from working, up to age 65 or regular retirement age.
Disability insurance covers all types of medical conditions, such as:
- Chronic back pain
- Fibromyalgia
- Lupus
- Chronic fatigue syndrome or “CFS”
- Strokes
- Heart attacks
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Multiple sclerosis or “MS”
- Diabetic neuropathy
- Radiculopathy
- RSD or CRPS
- Mental health conditions
Some disability policies limit the maximum amount of months that disability benefits are paid for certain medical conditions, such as CFS and fibromyalgia.
What Is the Difference Between Group & Individual Disability Insurance?
Put simply, group disability insurance is a type of disability insurance offered by an employer to the company’s employees, whereas individual disability insurance is a form of insurance that is purchased by a single individual. Individual disability insurance can be purchased when an employer does not offer group insurance or when the offered group insurance is not sufficient. In the latter instance, individual disability insurance can be supplemental to group insurance.
Some of the benefits of group disability insurance include:
- It is typically available to all employees, regardless of whether or not they have pre-existing conditions
- It is often more affordable than individual disability insurance and has lower premiums
- It is convenient for employees
Meanwhile, some of the benefits of individual disability insurance include:
- It generally offers more extensive coverage than group disability insurance
- Employees retain coverage when they leave their job or are let go
- Individual insurance plans can be customized to each policy holder
Whether you have group insurance or individual insurance, either independent of or as supplemental to group insurance, filing a claim can be complicated. Contact our disability insurance attorneys to learn how we can help.
Let Us Help You
UNUM, CIGNA or LINA, Aetna, Prudential, MetLife, Hartford, Lincoln Financial, Liberty Mutual, and The Standard are some of the major insurance companies that offer disability insurance. Our firm has extensive experience helping people who have disability claims with these companies and more. Our disability lawyers can help at any stage of your disability claim no matter where you are located.
Contact our firm at (800) 969-0488 for a free consultation with a disability lawyer.