Laura Pennington  |  August 25, 2019

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Disability Overview

For anyone interested in pursuing disability benefits either through the government or through private disability insurance, it is important to review the specific terms of the individual disability payments structure to clarify expectations and to ensure that your medical condition meets the criteria for disability. There are two primary ways in which a disability definition can be explored in the context of social security disability benefits and private disability benefits.

Private Disability Insurance

Disability insurance typically comes in two forms. Short term disability insurance, which replaces a portion of your paycheck over a short period of time, such as for several months. Long term disability insurance instead provides coverage if you are not able to work for a longer period of time, such as over the course of decades.

Any Occupation Disability Insurance

In order to be qualified as disabled under this form of policy, a person who submits an application must be unable to work in any occupation. This form of coverage is typically less expensive than another form of coverage but it can be more difficult to claim these benefits.

Own Occupation Disability Insurance

This type of disability policy states that you are disabled if you are not able to work at your regular occupation, even if you were able to accept another job. This kind of policy is usually harder to get since the terms are so specific.

Elimination Period

A long term disability policy that you have purchased through your employer or on your own often comes with an elimination period. The specific period of elimination will be listed in the policy benefits and this can be anywhere from 30 days to an entire year. Long term disability policies will typically pay for 2, 5 or 10 years, or until the period of your retirement. The Council of Disability Awareness states that a typical individual disability claim lasts for just under three years.

Social Security Administration Disability Benefits

The Social Security Administration looks at numerous aspects of your application to determine if you qualify for disability benefits. These include identifying whether or not you are working an average more than $1,220 a month, whether or not your condition is severe enough and in the list of disabling conditions, whether you are able to do the work you did previously, and whether or not you can do any other type of work.

The law defines disability as the lack of ability to engage in any gainful or substantial activity due to a medically defined mental or physical issue that could be anticipated to lead to your death or will last at least 12 months.

Disability Claim

In order to begin receiving benefits and to meet the basic benefit period for disability you must initiate a claim with your disability insurance carrier. This claim will include a claim form on which you will describe your disability and nature, including the kind of treatment you’ve received for it and when it began. Your claim should be submitted to your carrier as soon as possible. 

 

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.