What Is Considered Long-Term Disability?

Many workers have short-term (STD) and long-term (LTD) disability insurance coverage that is designed to protect them if they become ill or injured and are unable to work as a result.

What is Considered a Long-Term Disability?

Knowing what is considered a long-term disability is important in the success of your claim. As you will see below, many insurance companies deny claims (even valid ones) because they allege your impairments fail to meet the technical definition of disability.

Under most LTD policies, to qualify for benefits, your disability must prevent you from working: that is, it must prevent you from doing most of the tasks required by your current employer. In such cases, you can qualify for long-term disability insurance.

Keep in mind, however, that some policies do exclude certain illnesses and injuries. Some also exclude work-related illnesses or injuries.

Under most LTD policies, after two years, the eligibility test changes to require you to be unable to do any other job, given your education, training, and experience.

In short, always consult your policy and read it carefully. If you are covered under a group insurance plan, you can also consult your benefits booklet.

Often, however, even though premiums have been paid, insurance companies deny valid claims for long-term disability benefits.

There are many different reasons for this. Perhaps the individual didn’t meet the time requirements in order to qualify; perhaps the particular injury or illness failed to meet the definition of a disability.

These are just a couple of possibilities, but there are many more.

If your long-term disability claim has been denied, Sean Giovannetti has the expertise to help you get the compensation you deserve, whether this means holding the insurance company accountable, getting your benefits reinstated, or negotiating a lump sum settlement.

Sean is a personal injury lawyer with extensive experience, including prior experience of more than a decade representing insurance companies.

He also has experience dealing with and handling claims against various insurers like Sun Life, Manulife, RBC, and Great West Life, among others. Given his past experience handling claims for insurers, Sean is very familiar with the insurance industry and various insurance company tactics.

He will get you the compensation that belongs to you. To schedule a free consultation or for more information, please contact us here.