Working can jeopardize your disability claim. Insurance companies will use any work-related activity (including volunteer work) as grounds to deny or terminate your long-term disability benefits, often before you are fully healed and ready to return to work full-time.
If you are receiving disability benefits and are considering returning to work, you MUST do two things: 1) review your ENTIRE disability insurance policy, and 2) get the support of your doctor.
There are two occupational periods in all long-term disability policies: the “own occupation” period and the “any occupation” period. In the “own occupation” period, you qualify for benefits if you cannot perform the primary duties of your own job. After a period of time (often 24 months, but check YOUR policy carefully) you are considered disabled only if you cannot work at ANY gainful occupation.
Other items to look for (and understand!) in your policy:
If you feel ready to try to return to work, it is vital that your doctor is onboard. Ideally, your doctor will examine you BEFORE you return to work in some capacity and will do two things:
Be up front with the insurance company: tell them you are attempting to return to work, make sure they have your medical records that both support and limit this, and let them know what income you receive so they can offset your benefits. Follow up with your doctor to document how things are going. In a perfect world, your policy will support a return to work at a speed that is healthy for you. You control that as much as possible by keeping everyone – the insurance company, your doctor and your employer – informed and involved.
And of course we understand that it’s not a perfect world. That’s where we come in – we can help. Before making any changes, book a flat-fee consultation with us. We’ll look at your policy, explain all the different clauses and how working will impact your eligibility for benefits, review your recent medical records, and highlight any areas where it would be helpful to have your doctor provide more information.
If your benefits are denied, we credit 100% of the consultation fee to your appeal fee. We can work with you in person or over the phone, so call BenGlassLaw at (703) 584-7277 today to set an appointment. Our disability clients tell us this is the best money they could have spent to understand their policy and protect their benefits while doing what’s best for them – getting back to work.