I'm back to a 3/4 time position at work. I now feel well enough to take
this number of hours on and they are 12 hour shifts. So now I'm finally
eligible for my employers LTD plan that would cover 60 percent of my
gross pay until I'm 65 should I become unable to do my job due to
disability. Well, now I'm told that the insurance company has to approve
me. (like this is going to happen once they find out I own
the monster). I decided to go online and look at all the horror stories
revolving around LTD policies. I now read that many if not most are
denied the first time and many people end up in court but these
companies are protected by ERISA laws and it has to be fought in federal
court and by the time this all comes about, most people who are already
hurting, and totally disabled, are just too pooped to pursue this mess.
Makes me wonder if it is worth paying for every month.
That said, does anyone want to share their horror stories about trying to
obtain the coverage or the benefits once covered? I'd love to hear.
And...any advice for those of us that may be considering purchasing a
policy or applying for disability?
lorster, I feel for you. That is a terrible position to be in. I am fortunate that working for a large corporation, they didn't need to approve me, it was just automatic. I do remember years ago working for a smaller company whose life insurance carrier denied me just on the basis of my weight, which is unbelievable.
One thing I did want to caution you about on the LTD policies is something in the "fine print" of my policy. Certain musculo-skeletal disorders are either ineligible or have a limited coverage (like only for 2 years), especially if you are seronegative (which I am). You may want to weigh any of these qualifications against your own situation and required contributions.
It is terrible that it should be this way. Good luck on getting your coverage.
What I don't get...is that I am not disabled today. I may be tomorrow or byYou've got nothing to lose by applying. I know I had short term and long term disability through work. I knew there would be little or no trouble getting short term but I was concerned when it hit the transition time to LTD. I was approved for payment with no problems. They did require me to apply for social security once I was on LTD. Social Security approved me in barely 2 months.
My LTD is written to pay for 2 years if I am unable to do the job I was doing at the time of disability and then at 2 years only if I am unable to work at all. Having social security should prevent that clause from coming back to haunt me.
Just make sure you completely understand the entire policy..there is a lot of fine print
My doctor told me that I was unable to work any longer after I gave birth to my second son. I had already cut down to 30 hours at that point but he said enough was enough. I was out alot and my arthritis had gotten worse. After I was out of work for a full year ,I was able to apply for Social Security Disablity. They did deny me the first 2 times, then I got a lawyer and I was approved.I applied a like 6 years ago long before I was ever diagnosed. The only bump I have come accross is I am only allowed to bump it up to the next level each year. If a person tries to bump 2-3 they want all kinds of documentaion. I can see there point also I guess.
After reading some of the feedback I think I may need to read the fine print in my policy. Thanks for the heads up everyone.
Jay