Other Benefits Associated With Your Long Term Disability Claim
Your long term disability insurance benefit typically provides some form of wage replacement when you are unable to work due to illness or injury. Some long term disability plans also provide additional benefits to qualified individuals beyond income replacement. The most common of these additional benefits are health insurance and life insurance benefits.
Health Insurance
Most people have health insurance provided by their employer. Employer-provided health insurance usually ends when you are no longer employed. However, some employers allow former employees who are receiving long term disability benefits to continue receiving coverage under the employer-provided health insurance plan. This is a remarkable benefit. In most situations, when employment ends, the employee only has the option of purchasing the insurance at full price from the employer (COBRA) or purchasing their own private insurance policy. Continuing on the employer’s plan without paying for premiums is therefore a significant benefit.
Life Insurance
Some employers offer life insurance coverage for their employees. Generally, this coverage ends when your employment ends. Similar to the health insurance discussion above, some employers allow former employees who are receiving long term disability benefits to continue coverage.
Do You Qualify For These Additional Health and Life Insurance Benefits?
Your employer should have provided you with a summary of your insurance benefits. If you are unclear about whether you are covered, contact your human resources department.
What Happens If Your Underlying Long Term Disability Claim is Denied?
If your long term disability insurance claim is denied, you will have the opportunity to appeal that denial. If your disability plan includes other benefits like health and/or life insurance, you should make sure to clearly identify them in your appeal letter to make sure you preserve your right to claim these insurance benefits in the future.
If your appeal is successful, then these additional insurance benefits should be restored. In other words, you will continue to have health insurance or life insurance coverage, depending on the terms of your plan.
If, however, your appeal is unsuccessful, you may need to file a lawsuit to pursue both your long term disability benefits as well as your additional insurance benefits. Your lawsuit should make sure to identify these benefits and make clear that you are continuing to pursue them.
If you have questions about your long term disability claim or any associated benefits, please
contact an experienced Hawks Quindel disability attorney for a free consultation today.