Long Term Disability Insurance

[Guest guest]

Dear Sue:

Well, congratulations!! I'm so glad for you. What great news! Da da ta da

daaaa!

I'm turning mental handsprings for you!

Kathy (AIH)

Seattle area

[Guest guest]

Kathy: Thanks but I still don't know where I am at with it. I have been

asked if I would quit work, stay working or what. But right now I have to

sit down and think about the pros and cons of it. I do love my job but it

depends on the next six months. There is a big reorganizaation going on now

and I don't know it will include me. My husband said we would lose my

insurance but we have his and with the medicine bill high every month with my

and his sends us medicine. So time will tell.

Sue AIH

Wisconsin

P S The owner that is my boss now wants me to stay but his brother is take

over next week and wellllll. I had him for a boss for about 8 years and I

not looking forward to it again.

[Guest guest]

Don:

So if I quit work in the furture should I start the paperwork then or what do

you suggest?

Sue AIH

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

Sue

I think your chances are much better for SSDI if you are not working. I'm

not positive but I'm not sure you can apply if you are working. After you

get on SSDI they do have a 9 month trial period for those who can return to

work.\

Susie

[Guest guest]

Dear Sue:

In a lot of cases insurance companies will allow you to keep coverage once

you've left a job. Usually at the same rate your company was paying (at

least for a while). It's worth checking out. I know the idea of giving up

work is hard, but after you make the adjustment it is for the best. Good

luck!

Kathy (AIH)

Seattle area

[Guest guest]

> Don: Did you have long term disability when you applied for SSI?

>

I applied for both at the same time. Needless to say, my LTD came through

long before the SSDI.

Don

[Guest guest]

It took me a year and a half to get ssi, got turned down twice and was going

to go tocourt, but got approved while waiting for court date. My lawyer

says it is routine to get turned down twice, but usually get it when go to

court. so can you start the process now?

J

>From: Roselle50@...

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>Subject: Re: [ ] Long term disability insurance

>Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 23:32:49 EDT

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>From: Roselle50@...

>

>Kathy:

>

>I know when you leave work where I am at there offer you 18 months of

>coverage but at a price of $450. a month. My husband has good insurance

>it

>is $200.00 deductable and 90% up to I think $2500. then 100% after that.

>Also I would not have to shell out $80 to $90 dollars a month for medicine

>because they have it that they will send you your supply every month. I

>will

>go to the doctor tomorrow and talk to him about it and see what he things.

>It is getting that I get so tried at work and I am starting to make stupid

>mistakes.

>

>Sue AIH

>Wisconsin

>

>---------------------------

[Guest guest]

Sue,

My brother is an attorney and we had lunch discussing SS last week. He said

you can apply while you're working, but your chances of getting it approved

are significantly better if you're not.

Roxanne

[Guest guest]

Kathy:

I know when you leave work where I am at there offer you 18 months of

coverage but at a price of $450. a month. My husband has good insurance it

is $200.00 deductable and 90% up to I think $2500. then 100% after that.

Also I would not have to shell out $80 to $90 dollars a month for medicine

because they have it that they will send you your supply every month. I will

go to the doctor tomorrow and talk to him about it and see what he things.

It is getting that I get so tried at work and I am starting to make stupid

mistakes.

Sue AIH

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

Sue,

Federal law says that you must be covered under " COBRA " insurance for 18

months after termination of employment. The advantage to COBRA is that the

insurance company that you've had through your employer can't turn you down

because of your medical condition. Also, group coverage is usually far

superior to coverage you could buy on your own or get through Medicare. I

think that the employer must carry a percentage of the cost. My

understanding used to be that when you go on COBRA coverage, the employer

must continue paying the insurance company what they'd been paying for you

and your family all along and the employee pays the difference between the

reduced rate and the " full " rate. I could be all wrong about that. Under

any circumstances, COBRA used to be fairly cheap but now is often quite

expensive and it seems to depend on who your employer is or was. I believe

that under COBRA, there can also be an extension to the 18 month rule but I

don't know who is eligible for that. We've had COBRA coverage twice and

our premiums were very low once and considerably higher the second time,

yet the coverages were similar. We paid our premiums directly to the

ex-employers.

By law, an employer must notify you when your insurance will terminate and

offer you the option to continue under COBRA. You pay the monthly premiums

directly to the ex-employer and some of 'em will try to weasel out of it,

so it's important to pay on time.

Something else to consider: you might have extended coverage (coverage for

life) under your company's retirement or ERISA plan. My husband's Dad

does. Bob had only worked 9 months for his present employer when he became

permanently disabled because of his back. We don't know why, but they have

continued to cover us (medical, dental and even life) ever since and they

haven't charged us for a single premium. We're afraid to ask why this is

happening for fear they'll stop. On the other hand, it could be that there

is something written into their ERISA plan that we don't know about that

requires this. His employer is headquartered in Texas and has to comply

with Texas insurance laws though they have offices all over the U.S.

Something else interesting. He has both short-term and long-term

disability insurance. There was a waiting period for both, but though

they're through the same company, when his short-term coverage ran out, the

long-term coverage considered the waiting period already satisfied. Thus,

he gets a full two years of long-term (and tax free) coverage because of

his age - the older you are, the shorter the coverage. An additional

benefit is that the long-term coverage also pays the disability insurance

premiums as part of their benefits.

Something else that anyone who is already collecting Social Security should

know. If you were already collecting it (because of age) when you became

disabled, the disability insurer can't consider SS as co-insurance. If you

apply for SS AFTER you start getting disability pay, they will only pay the

difference between your SS and their coverage. So, if you're 62 and think

you might become eligible for long-term disability, be sure to start

collecting early SS before you start the disability coverage.

My husband's disability insurer tried to tell us that they would adjust

their payments because of his SS. I gave them the page and paragraph of

their own manual to show them they were wrong and they obviously weren't

used to being challenged. They might have even forgotten that this was one

of their own rules. They are one of the two biggest disability insurance

companies in the U.S.

Hope this clarifies things a little.

Take care,

Geri

[Guest guest]

J:

I haven't decided if I want to quit work yet but I have a doctor appointment

today and will discuss it with him. I have pros and cons on if I should stay

or retire. I know that I can't keep going like I am much longer. I'm so

tired all the time and I don't seem to get anything done in the house. I try

to keep up with my daughter, and after that not enough energy for the

house work etc. I will let everyone know what the doctor says.

Sue AIH

Wisconsin

[Guest guest]

Hi Sue,

Social Security considered the date of my termination to be the starting

date of my eligibility even though they acknowledged that my illness started

3 years before that and my income had declined dramatically during that

time. Their reasoning was that my working was evidence that I could work.

Hmmmmm.....

Don

[Guest guest]

(At sometime in the past we had a discussion on obtaining Long Term

Disability Insurance and if it would be beneficial to us. This article

from the Los Angeles Times, April 30, 2003 might be of interest to

some). ~ Gretchen

IN BRIEF/ INSURANCE

UnumProvident to Defend Disability Suit

UnumProvident Corp., the largest U.S. disability insurer, must defend

itself against a suit accusing the company of systematically denying

claims for long-term disability insurance by people too sick or injured

to work, a U.S. district judge in New York said.

The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company is accused in the class-action suit

of violating its duty under federal insurance laws by paying bonuses to

its workers based on the number of claims they deny. UnumProvident did

not comment.

The suit seeks an order forcing UnumProvident to review claims it denied

and to change its practices. It doesn't seek damages.

The case was filed on behalf of people whose policies were underwritten

by

UnumProvident units or whose disability plans are administered by the

company.