How do I apply for Long Term Disability benefits?

Individuals may go about applying for Long Term Disability benefits in a variety of ways. This includes applying directly to your Long Term Disability insurance provider or through your own employer. If you know what insurance company administers and provides your Long Term Disability policy, you should contact them directly and indicate that you wish to apply for Long Term Disability benefits.

Some of these insurance companies include MetLife, UNUM, CIGNA, Prudential, The Hartford, The Standard, Madison National Life, Liberty Mutual, Aetna, Sedgewick, and so on. If you are not sure who your Long Term Disability insurance provider is, you should contact your employer. You can often find out this information from your manager, supervisor, or Human Resources department.

Once you know what insurance company provides your Long Term Disability benefits, you should file an application for benefits. Upon applying for benefits, most Long Term Disability policies require you to provide “proof of loss.” This means that you must provide the insurance company with specific reasons and documentation of why you are no longer able to work and should be entitled to Long Term Disability benefits.

When applying, most insurance companies have you complete various types of forms. These forms can include questionnaires about your health and may ask for information regarding your employment, medical treatment and providers, and personal activities. Along with completing forms, insurance companies may also have you complete health and release of information authorizations so they can obtain medical and other information to further investigate your claim.

What happens after I submit my application for Long Term Disability benefits?

After all of your forms and authorizations have been submitted to the insurance company, your claim will be opened and investigated. Often times, a specific case worker is assigned to your claim and oversees the process. Keep in mind, your case worker works for the insurance company, not you.

This case worker may request outstanding or updated medical information, send your claim to third party physicians for further review, or have your claim forwarded for a vocational review. Insurance companies may also contact your doctors for additional information. Also, it is important to remember that when you file an application for Long Term Disability benefits, you may be placed under surveillance.

Depending upon the type of Long Term Disability plan or policy you have, there may be a deadline in which the insurance company must come to a decision to either grant or deny your benefits. Applications for benefits are often denied for a variety of reasons, which can be very frustrating when you don’t understand the basis for the decision.

Reasons the insurance company will deny your claim typically include:

• Finding that you are not disabled, despite your doctor’s opinions.
• Stating that you do not have limitations or restrictions severe enough to limit your ability in working.
• Claiming your disability was due to a pre-existing condition.

You should contact a Long Term Disability lawyer as soon as you receive the denial letter, so that they can help you get started on your appeal. The denial letter will include the deadline for submitting your appeal, typically 180 days. The actual deadline date may be based on the date your current disability payments will be discontinued or the date of the denial letter.

Although 180 days seems like a generous amount of time, there is a lot of work to be done in that time frame. It takes time to request medical records and employment records to support your claim. You may also need additional time to seek medical treatment or obtain medical testing to support your claim.

Whether you have not yet applied, or you have applied and were denied Long Term Disability benefits, we can help. We can assist you in the application process by going over all the forms with you and obtaining supportive medical and vocational information for your claim. If you have already been denied, we can help with the Long Term Disability appeal process.