We Help Wisconsin Workers Apply for STDI & Appeal STDI Denials Short Term Disability Insurance Helps Workers Unable to Work for Short Periods
Short term disability insurance provides income replacement if you are unable to perform the duties of your occupation for a short period of time. Short term disability insurance benefits can end if you lose your employment while disabled. This means if you become unable to continue working due to a disability and you lose your job because your employer refuses to hold your job for you, your short term disability benefits may end. It is much more common for short term disability insurance benefits to continue, even if you lose your job, but you should be aware this may happen. Short term disability insurance benefit plans often will not apply if you were injured at work. Short term disability insurance plans have the right to deny coverage altogether if you are also making a
workers compensation claim.
Who Provides Your Short Term Disability Plan?
Short term and long term disability insurance comes from two sources – coverage you purchase for yourself and coverage provided through your employment. It is possible to have both individually purchased coverage and employer provided coverage. If you are unsure about whether you have purchased short term disability insurance, your insurance agent should be able to advise you. If you are unsure if you have coverage through your employer, your human resources department will have this information. In either case, ask to review the
Plan Document, which will provide you with the exact terms of your coverage.
Employer-Provided STDI Plans
Many employers offer short term disability insurance coverage to their employees. It is not required by law, but rather an optional employee benefit. You should review the terms of the plan to know what types of disabilities are covered and for how long. Each disability policy is different. Most short term disability plans offer benefits for between four to twenty-six weeks of disability. Obviously that is a big difference, so it is important to know the length of coverage.
Private STDI Plans
If your employer does not offer long term disability insurance, you can purchase your own coverage through an insurance agent. Before doing so, you should review your short term disability coverage with your agent to make sure there is not a gap between when your short term coverage ends and your long term coverage begins. Additionally, some short term disability insurance plans state you need to be employed in order to continue to receive short term disability benefits.
Short Term Disability Claims Are Sometimes Denied
Even though you have purchased short term insurance, it does not guarantee you will actual get the benefit in the event you need it. Unfortunately, thousands of injured and sick workers each year are illegally denied disability benefits because insurance companies have incentive to deny benefits. When this happens, you have the right to appeal the denial and, if necessary, sue the insurance company for your benefits.
Experienced Short Term Disability Attorneys
Hawks Qundel’s disability attorneys focus their practice on helping people get their short term disability benefits. We have been fighting for disabled people for years and have secured benefits for our clients from all of the major long term disability insurance companies, including Unum, CIGNA, Hartford, MetLife, Sun Life, Lincoln Financial, Mutual of Omaha, Disability RMS, Reliant Standard, Northwestern Mutual Life, Madison National Life, and more.
If you are unable to perform the duties of your job due to a sickness or injury and have been denied disability benefits, or if you would like to learn more about disability benefits claims, the lawyers at Hawks Quindel are here to help. Please contact us for a free consultation to discuss your rights regarding short term disability benefits or long term disability benefits. We represent individuals throughout Wisconsin on a contingent fee basis. Contact us if you would like to discuss your situation or legal rights with a Wisconsin disability attorney.
Please call a Madison disability attorney directly at (608) 257-0040 or a Milwaukee disability attorney at (414) 271-8650, or email us via our Contact Page. To learn more about our Long Term Disability practice, please see our
Long Term Disability blog topics.