Anyone have experience with Long Term Disability?

[Still_Small_Voice]

I am looking at buying a Long Term Disability policy. I want the waiting period to be no longer than 60 days if I were not able to go into work for that long. Anyone have any experience with long term disability company that they would or would not recommend? I live in Utah presently.

[pam]

Is it available through your employment?

[Still_Small_Voice]

Enrollment period has passed. I cannot sign up for Long Term Disability through my employer until next October.

[beefche]

I work for LTD--I can recommend my company.

As an aside, I would strongly, STRONGLY recommend against Unum. My nickname for them is "stupidUnum" because of some of the issues I've had to deal with them during the course of my job with a different company.

[skippy740]

I would talk to a licensed independent agent in your state.

CLU® - Highest Standard of Knowledge and Trust

I would also give some thought to buying a Critical Illness policy, but it is not a substitute for a disability income policy.

The top companies I would consider by reputation are: Guardian, MassMutual, The Standard. I'd also consider Illinois Mutual and Ohio National.

I can't recommend too many only because I'm in California, and California has made selling Disability policies practically impossible. Many carriers just don't sell disability here, but they do in every other state.

Edited January 14, 2013 by skippy740

[dahlia]

How old are you? My understanding is that you don't want to buy it too young, but you don't want to wait too late either. 50-60 is a good point. The younger you are, the cheaper, but again, you don't want to start buying this product when you are 30, just because it's cheap.

We were having a discussion about this on another board I'm on. The new year must make people think about problems.

[skippy740]

That advice is perfect... for considering buying Long Term Care insurance that covers in-home custodial care and other expenses. Benefits begin to be payable once one cannot perform 2 out of 7 Activities of Daily Living (ADL's) - eating, bathing, toileting, transferring, and a few more than I can't think of right now.

The primary purpose is not just having a level of care, but in protecting accumulated retirement assets from the ravaging costs of such care.

Long term disability is for replacing one's income while you are unable to work due to accident or illness. Benefit periods typically last from 2-5 years or until age 65.

Gets more expensive the longer one waits. If someone has an income, they should consider protecting that income with disability income protection.

[beefche]

The statistics show that approximately 1 in 5 will be disabled for over 1 year prior to age 65. And by age 35, it is 3 times more likely that a disability will occur than death. Can you survive 1 year or longer without any income (don't count on Social Security Disability as that process takes approximately 9 months--and that is if you are deemed disabled. If you are not disabled according to SS, then you are looking at any where from an additional 12 months to as long as 48 months for a decision.

Long term care is not as needed (IMO) as long term disability. Protecting your income is more needed and more likely to be needed than long term care. Especially if you have any chronic conditions (but be warned that at least currently, pre existing still happens with long term disability, so you may not qualify for benefits for a time period until you have been insured for a specific length of time).

[Still_Small_Voice]

I am 37 years young right now.

[applepansy]

I had LTD through my employer. After SSDI was approved they dropped me. When I signed up and started paying premiums there was no clause about being dumped if on SSDI. So..... be careful.

My employer finally sold my "contract" to MetLife and they did a review of my case and cancelled me. Then my employer back charged me for meds and such.... about $2,000. MetLife had no basis for cancelling me. When I told them I would get an attorney the person said go ahead nothing will come of it. I spent two days on the phone calling attorneys. One finally talked to me. In Utah, if you sue your doctor or health insurance and win... even if they caused harm .... there are no punitive damages. The attorney said I had a case but there was no money in it. That means no money to pay the attorneys.

Where it left me was I needed money to sue and I would win. But if I had the money to sue I would only be reinstated on insurance for myself and my family and in a year I'd have to do it all again. If I had the money to sue them I didn't need to sue because I would have the money for insurance premiums.

The law here in Utah really dumps disabled patients on their rear ends. IHC got this law passed btw.

EDIT: Another thing to consider. It takes 2 to 3 years to get approved for Social Security Disability. You cannot start the paperwork until you've been unable to work for 3 months. So... you need income for 2-3 years plus 3 months.

What I wish I'd done was put the premium in a savings account.

Edited January 15, 2013 by applepansy

[beefche]

First, LTD policies typically (always check the actual policy) offset SS rather than close your claim outright. Again, my experience is that most LTD policies offset SS, but there are clauses that could close the claim, so be sure to actually look at the policy.

Second, you can apply for SSDB at any time. If approved, SS will not start until 6 months after your disability date. So, if SS determines you became disabled on 10/14/12, then your SS benefits would begin 4/1/13 and would be paid in 5/2013 (SS pays in arrears). They do pay retroactively, so if it takes them 2 years to determine you are disabled, your first check would be a large one to pay the back pay owed.

Honestly, if you are healthy and have no chronic conditions, you might consider just waiting until you can enroll in your employer paid plan. Otherwise, the LTD policy will only be good for you if you have an accident (if it is work related, then you have Workers' Compensation to cover you). It's highly likely that if you get a policy on your own now, there will be a pre-existing clause. Most prex clauses are in force for 12-24 months--meaning, if you go on disability within the first 12 or 24 months of being effective, then it's likely you will not get paid. And it's likely that if you enroll at open enrollment with your work, you will still have a prex clause. Again, typically, the prex clauses are usually for 12-24 months (again, ALWAYS check the policy--not your booklet, but the actual policy).

[dahlia]

By happenstance I got a booklet in the mail today about the long term care policy offered by my employer and realized that was what I was thinking of in my earlier response, not long term disability.

Surprisingly, LTD is a required benefit of my employer. : ) I have no idea who lobbied to make that happen since I'm not in a union and it's not usually a required benefit, but yeah. The policy pays if you can't do work similar to what you did before - which is not the case with all polcies. I can see where a bunch of professors don't want to end up working at Walmart after an accident or whatev just 'cause they can sit in a wheelchair and greet people at the door.

[skippy740]

LTD and STD (short-term disability) is usually an employer benefit to help reduce ongoing costs of Workman's Compensation and future claims against it.

[Still_Small_Voice]

Thanks for the advice. I decided against getting any long term disability coverage for now.