How Long
Term Disability Attorneys Can Help Your LTD Claim
If you’re one of the
one in
seven Ontarians living with a severe illness or disability that prevents
you from working, it’s important to be informed about how Long Term Disability
(LTD) benefits work and how long-term disability attorneys can help your
benefit claim.
About Long
Term Disability Coverage
Many people don’t know much about their LTD or short term disability
coverage until they need them. Both are usually bundled together in work or
private insurance. The illnesses covered may vary from policy to policy, so, if
you and a loved one have insurance through different employers, you may not
have the same coverage as your spouse or other family members.
Under most plans, you must prove that you are "totally disabled” before
you can collect LTD. The problem with this term and others like it is that
there is no definite definition, so insurance companies are free to interpret
them the way they see fit. This is especially challenging for people who don’t
have visible disabilities, such as a person with a
mood
disorder, which can be harder to prove. Long Term Disability Attorneys help
their clients fight unfair rulings that deny benefits to people who can’t work.
If your illness or disability prevents you from returning to work after
two years of LTD, your insurance company may request proof that you are still
unable to work. After the two year mark, you not only have to prove that you
can’t do your old job, but you also have to prove that you can’t perform other
jobs for which you might normally otherwise be qualified. Insurance companies
are eager to avoid paying benefits to workers, especially younger workers and
often even try to cut the benefits of legitimately ill or disabled people.
Experienced long-term disability Ontario attorneys can help prove that you are
still unable to return to work and need coverage.
The Canada
Pension Plan Disability Benefit
Your LTD coverage may require you to apply for the Canada Pension Plan
(CPP) disability benefit before you are eligible to collect. Many plans will
deduct the amount you get from the CPP from the amount the insurance company
has to pay you each month.
It’s important to apply for the
CPP
Disability Benefit as soon as you are unable to work in order to ensure
that you don’t lose any benefits. People who are under 65, have a severe and
prolonged illness or disability and have met contribution guidelines are
eligible to apply for the benefit.
The turn-around time for a completed application by someone with a
terminal illness is 48 hours. Everyone else will have to wait longer for their
application to be reviewed. Be sure to fill out the application completely so that
there are no delays in processing it.
How Long
Term Disability Attorneys Help
If an insurance company has taken surveillance video of you taking out
the trash while you’re on LTD for a back injury, it may deny your claim.
However, this video may not show the whole story since it doesn’t take into
consideration the time you spent in pain recovering after the fact. A lawyer
can help you build your case.
Long-term disability attorneys can help level the playing field when
you’re dealing with a large insurance company that’s interested in denying you
the benefits you deserve.