A lot of people ask me, “Why do I now have to file for social security disability benefits after my claim is approved?” Well, the answer is simple. Your insurance company will require you to file your long-term disability or social security disability claim because the amount that you get from social security will offset the amount that the long-term disability insurance company has to pay you under the insurance contract. In other words, the insurance company asked to pay you less because now the federal government is paying you a portion of your monthly benefit.
Provisions in Long-Term Disability Policies
There is a provision in pretty much every long-term disability policy that I’ve ever seen that will say something to the effect of, that they’re allowed to have an offset for any other income that you’re able to receive. Other income would include social security disability, and most of those policies, if not all of those policies, require you to do what is necessary to receive that other income so that the insurance company is paying less. Now, just because your claim was approved by your long-term disability insurance company, that does not mean that your claim will be approved by the Social Security Administration. There are two very different sets of rules that each is operating under, so it’s important to know the difference, and it’s important to know that sometimes you will be denied your social security disability claim. A lot of insurance companies will require you, or at least ask you, to use their social security disability people, their attorneys, to help you file for your claim. That way they know that it’s getting done.
Why Local is Best
But what we have found, is that you’re better off finding someone local, who knows the local administrative judges, who know the rules and their procedures and how things practically play out in social security hearings here in our locality. So it’s better for you to find someone who is closer to your home, who’s closer to your community and who generally knows how these things will happen within the local Social Security Administration. Don’t just go to a New York Law Firm because your long-term disability carrier said that you had to, you don’t always have to. In fact, a lot of times you don’t have to use any specific person, you can use any lawyer that you want. Sometimes they’ll just tell you that, but it’s not entirely true. It’s important to know what your policy requires and what your policy says about what your obligations are when it comes to filing for social security disability and whether or not you’re filing complies with their provisions and their rules about what you’re supposed to do in order to keep getting your long-term disability benefits.
I hope you found this helpful. If you have additional questions about this, of course, feel free to email us or to give us a call, we’re happy to help you in any way we can.
