Your Personal Injury Lawyers
What Factors Determine Long Term Disability?
You may be eligible to receive long-term disability (LTD) benefits if you are unable to work and earn an income. A disability may lead to serious economic effects. These effects may impact your ability to work for the rest of your working-life, necessitating long-term disability benefits.
What factors determine long-term disability vary but may include:
- Whether or not your conditions qualify
- The details of your specific long-term disability plan
- What other coverages you are eligible for
- If you are able to work a different type of job
- And more
What factors determine long-term disability may differ on a plan-by-plan basis. You may want to consult the policy of your long-term disability plan to better understand how it works.
You may also want to consult a law firm that represents long-term disability cases for help interpreting your policy or appealing a denial of benefits.
Qualifications for Long-Term Disability
Not every condition may qualify for long-term disability benefits.
Generally, individuals may qualify as having a disability if they have a physical or mental condition that makes it so they cannot:
- Work or bring in an income
- Take part in daily activities
Your long-term disability policy should contain details on what types of conditions qualify for coverage. There may be specific criteria within a diagnosed condition for your meet in order to qualify for long-term disability benefits according to your plan.
Evidence May Determine Your Long-Term Disability Benefits
As part of your application for long-term disability benefits, your insurance company may ask for:
- Records of your medical treatment
- An official diagnosis from your doctor
- A statement from your physician or specialists
- Reports from medical testing, including imaging
In addition to requesting medical information, you may be required to provide statements from your employer. Long-term disability insurance companies may need information about the physical requirements of your job, for example.
If the evidence you provide shows that you are experiencing a disability that impacts your ability to work and earn a living, you may be entitled to long-term disability payments.
If, on the other hand, your long-term disability carrier denies you benefits, you may have options to appeal this decision.
Choices Related to Long-Term Disability
Your long-term disability benefits may be determined by the insurance plan you carry.
Some employers offer long-term disability group plans as a work benefit. You may also purchase individual long-term disability insurance privately. This may give you more options for what type of coverage you use.
The exact benefits of a long-term disability plan may vary greatly. When considering a long-term disability plan, you may want to find out:
- How disability is defined by the plan
- Possible exclusions or pre-existing condition clauses
- The cost of the policy and the premium payment schedule
- The amount of benefits you may receive
- The taxable status of your benefits and the impact of inflation
- The time you’ll have to wait before you may be able to begin receiving benefits
Timeline for Long-Term Disability Benefits in Canada
Long-term disability benefits may kick in at different times after your application is approved. The period before long-term disability begins to pay is known as a waiting period. This period may be as long as three-four months, although the exact details of your waiting period may be found in your policy.
Many people apply for short-term disability (STD) insurance benefits while waiting for their long-term disability benefits to become active.
Long-term disability benefits may be available for up to two-five years after your initial injury (depending on the language of your policy), so long as your disability prevents you from your regular job at the time your disability began.
After this period, this condition may broaden to include your ability to complete work for which you are reasonably suited based on a variety of factors. If you are able to work a new type of job, your long-term disability benefits may end.
Demonstrating that you are unable to perform job-related tasks to earn a living may allow you to continue receiving long-term benefits according to the details of your policy.
We May Be Able to Help with Your Long-Term Disability Case
If you have additional questions about what factors qualify you for long-term disability in Ontario, contact the Preszler Injury Lawyers today. Our long-term disability lawyers may be able to go over your specific situation to provide you with legal advice applying for long-term disability benefits.
If your application for long-term disability benefits was unfairly rejected, we may be able to help you file an internal appeal or file a lawsuit against the insurance company to try to secure your benefits.
You can schedule a free initial consultation with our firm by calling 1-800-JUSTICE today.
