Before you decide to file a long-term disability claim, you should determine the number of benefits to which you are entitled. Admittedly, you may struggle to obtain that same piece of information. That is the reason that you make the hiring of a personal injury lawyer in Sault Ste. Marie your first step, as you move along the legal path that has been laid down for the filing of long term disability claims.
Working with a lawyer before you file your claim
After your lawyer has worked with you to determine the number of nature of all the benefits to which you are entitled, then you can file your claim. Once you have done that, you must again seek your lawyer’s assistance. At that point you need to get information on the qualifying period, which is also known as the elimination period.
Working with a lawyer after you have filed your claim
That is the span of time which you have been given as the period when you must prove that you could not work. For some insurance companies, the elimination period lasts only 4 to 6 months. For other companies, it might be as much as one year. What is it for your insurer, and have you exceeded that same span of time?
If you have been unable to work for the full elimination period, then you and your lawyer must make sure that your insurance company does not also have a rule regarding the extent of your loss of income. Some companies will not cover a disability claim if the disabled employee has not lost a designated percentage of his or her original income.
If you and your lawyer find that your insurer will not cover you, should you seek long term disability coverage, then the two of you will need to see what other options you have available to you. Maybe your insurer would agree to provide you with residual benefits. Such benefits are given to those policy holders that were not totally disabled during the full length of the elimination period.
Before you go after such residual benefits, understand how much money you might get, if you were to be awarded such benefits. In most cases it is a percentage of the amount that you lost monthly during the elimination period. Of course, you must first show that you qualify for the amount of money that equals that same percentage.
Where should you go from this point?
You and your lawyer must study the amount of money that you might get in the way of residual benefits. Do the two of you feel like you want to put time and effort into showing that you qualify for such a benefit? If you do, then the two of you have your work cut out for you. If you do not, then the two of you will need to consider what other options might be available.