Benefits

Unfortunately, Congress did not offer this protection to individuals injured by their group disability insurance company. The insurance company can wrongly deny your claim; make you retain and pay a lawyer and if they lose in court, their only obligation is to pay you what they should have paid you if they didn’t wrongly deny your claim. That’s outrageous! My best advice is to do your homework. Know the reputation of the insurance company before you purchase your disability policy. If you already purchased a policy, become familiar with the terms before you file a claim. Get an experienced ERISA lawyer before filing your claim. They can help you understand what you need to do to establish entitlement to benefits…Read More

Sometimes individuals are unaware of how their conduct may affect the entitlement to benefits that they have secured for their loved ones. I continue to encourage everyone with a group disability policy or group life insurance policy to get a copy and read it. Know what is covered and what is excluded. Recently, I was asked to evaluate the case of a young man who died as a result of participating in a street race. The widow’s attempt to collect the life insurance proceeds was met with denial by the life insurance carrier on the basis that he was engaging in a criminal offense (2nd degree misdemeanor in the state of Florida). The policy excluded coverage for loss caused in…Read More

It’s a fact that most Americans are only a few paychecks away from financial disaster. Disability Income insurance offers some protection by protecting a portion of your income. Most disability plans will only cover up to about 2/3 of your gross income. However, I’ve seen some plans that cover only 40 % of your income. In an ERISA plan where the premium comes out of your paycheck, you’ll want to have your employer deduct the premium after taxes, or out of your net paycheck. The reason is that if you deduct the premium before taxes are taken out, when you have a claim, your benefit will be subject to income taxes. As you can see, if you had to pay…Read More

Whether or not you still qualify for disability benefits depends on how much you’re working, how much you’re making, and the specific disability program you are enrolled in. The restrictions on what you can earn are stricter if you are enrolled in the Supplemental Security Income program. Assuming that you have no other sources of income besides your job and SSI, your Supplemental Security Income benefits are reduced by a dollar for every two dollars you earn over $85 in a month. It is entirely possible to earn so much at a job that your benefits stop altogether. If you earn enough to receive no benefits for an entire year, you will have to reapply for the program if you…Read More