How do I know when it is time to go out on disability? How do you know when it is time to go out on disability?  Occasionally people come to us who haven’t yet filed for disability insurance benefits because they are still working and considering applying.  They often ask how to know when it is time to go out of work on disability.  We generally respond that we are a law firm and this is a question best answered by your doctor.  Does your doctor say you can no longer work?  Does your doctor say you cannot perform the duties of your own occupation?  Does your docto ..read more

When you sign up for a disability insurance policy, you are usually given some information about your disability insurance benefits.  Many people don’t review their disability insurance policy, the same way most of us accept user agreements without ever reading them.  In fact, most people don’t even keep the policy and those of us who do keep it often don’t know where it is.  It’s a widespread phenomenon that can be a problem if you become disabled.   Where do I obtain my disability insurance policy? We often hear people say they have asked the insurance company for their p ..read more

4 Important Tips for Disability Insurance Clients Find 4 important tips for disability insurance clients who hire a disability insurance attorney to represent them below   Fill out information completely and accurately: When your attorney sends you a fee agreement packet, there will usually be some forms to complete asking for information about you and possibly information relative to your case.  It’s important to be sure you complete these in a timely manner, but also take your time to complete them thoroughly and accurately.  As an example, writing “Dr. Smith” as one of your d ..read more

Approval in Melbourne, Florida   Another approval, this time in Melbourne, Florida.  Client came to us suffering from lymphedema, lipomatosis, history of a failed laminectomy, sleep apnea, as well as other conditions.  One of the unique aspects of this case was that the denial letter stated that the client was not disabled from any occupation and that the policy transitions from proving inability to perform your own occupation to any occupation after just one year, whereas the any-occ transition in most LTD policies occurs at 24 months.  The insurance company determined tha ..read more

Approval in Pompano Beach, FL Another client approved, this time out of Pompano Beach, Florida.  Client came to us suffering from IBS, post COVID-19 problems, hearing loss, arthritis, type 2 diabetes, and anxiety.  The insurance company denied the claim stating that the medical information did not provide evidence of a severity of impairment to preclude her from performing her own occupation.   The client went out of work due to medical issues prior to contracting COVID-19.  While out of work from the initial medical issues, she became infected with COVID-19 that caused hyp ..read more

The Letter Is In the Mail If your disability insurance company has told you they are denying your claim, they may say the denial letter is in the mail.  You should ask them if they can email the letter to you.  Historically, we have found that when the disability insurance company tells you they are mailing something, it’s about 10-14 days before it lands in your mailbox.   The process can be accelerated a bit Needless to say, email travels much faster than snail mail, so having the letter emailed to you can save you those 10-14 days of waiting.  Surprisingly, we’ve also en ..read more

The transition from short-term to long-term disability may flow seamlessly, but that is not always the case.  Some disability insurance policies and companies require that you complete your short-term disability term before consideration of a long-term disability claim. Some companies and/or policies will transition automatically to long-term, while others require a separate application.   In the cases where the transition doesn’t occur automatically, it’s possible that you could be surprised by a denial of long-term disability.  In other words, simply because you were approved ..read more

Did you know there’s an easy way to figure out how much your LTD policy would be worth after a social security offset?  We can walk you through a way to figure out how much your net LTD would be after calculating any social security disability money you may receive if you are approved for SSD.   What is an SSD offset?   Your disability insurance policy most likely contains a section discussing “other income offsets”.  In other words, any other money you receive for being disabled.  The insurance company generally gets a dollar for dollar offset for that money.  Fo ..read more

Where Was Your Money Going? If you were receiving disability insurance benefits on a regular basis, where was your money going?  How were you receiving the money?  Did you receive a check?  Were you receiving direct deposit?  As long as everything is going well and you are receiving your benefits, then chances are you don’t have a problem.  But if you were receiving benefits and then received a denial letter stating that your benefits were being cut off, you might encounter some difficulties if you are reinstated…   What could go wrong with receiving benefits agai ..read more

Approval in Ft. Pierce, FL Another approval, this time out of Ft. Pierce, FL.  Client came to us with a denial of benefits from MetLife, suffering from medical conditions including Right side immobility, impaired cognition and memory, sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes II, and a cardiac condition requiring a heart monitor.  The disability insurance company acknowledged in the denial that client suffers from “residual weakness, difficulty with driving, ongoing fatigue, poor sleep hygiene, stress relating to the loss of a family member, and feelings of slow cognition”, yet went on to ..read more