Why T&E lawyers should have long-term disability attorneys on speed dial

The emerging risks faced in 2020 influenced many people to put more thought into what they will leave behind following an unexpected tragedy. A trust and estate professional can be a strategic resource for a client beyond drafting a trust, will or reorganizing assets. If the lawyer closely observes and listens to why their clients initially approached them, they may find an opportunity to help them successfully file disability or long term care insurance claims.

For example, did they mention they contracted COVID and had to miss one month or more of work? Or did they survive a car crash, with lingering injuries causing loss of employment. These are examples of legitimate long-term disability claims that many miss, since the purpose of the visit was more focused on legacy planning.

If this scenario sounds familiar, use this backdrop to go above and beyond for your client. In addition to securing their assets after they will eventually pass; you can help them maximize their disability or long term care insurance benefit amounts while they are still here. Disability and long-term care insurance law is complex, which is why collaborating with a seasoned disability insurance lawyer will help recover insurance payments and the benefits your client deserves.

The Basics

Long-term disability insurance is essentially income or salary replacement insurance. If someone suffers from a disabling illness or injury, long-term disability insurance should replace 60% or more of the workers' monthly income.

Qualifying disabilities include: physical injuries like broken bones or degenerative neck, thoracic and back problems; illnesses like COVID, cancer or heart issues; mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder or depression.

The Social Security Administration's site, www.SSA.gov, offers guidance in identifying and categorizing injuries and illnesses. New qualifying illnesses arise regularly as in 2020. A long-term disability lawyer will be updated on these and other disability developments.

Most individual and group long-term disability plans provide monthly disability benefits, subject to the terms and limitations of the individual or group policy. These benefits often include:

• Monthly payments to replace a portion of the salary or hourly wages and or bonus, and commissions.

• Rehabilitation/return-to-work incentives, which may include financial incentives or benefits designed to help the injured or sick worker return to their occupation sooner.

Individual insurance is issued to a single person. Group disability insurances are issued to a group of people, typically comprised of employees working for the same employer or association. Both have substantially different rules. People often buy an individual disability insurance policy because the consumer safeguards are outstanding and the monthly disability benefits if paid personally are tax free.

When a disabling injury or illness occurs and someone cannot return to work for an extended time, the situation can embody a Gordian knot of paperwork, phone calls and emails. Fortunately, experienced disability lawyers know how to manage simultaneous claims with multiple policies, even if they are administered by different companies.

Long-Term Disability Attorneys Can Lead the Dialogue with Individual and Group Insurers

Communicating and negotiating with insurance carriers may not be in every legal practitioner's repertoire, nor fit in their current busy schedule. A cornerstone of a long-term disability attorney's responsibilities is to know how to work with the insurance carriers. Disability attorneys know how to investigate whether one's relatives or dependents will qualify for what's known as "survivor benefits," in the event the insured passes away.

Let's consider an example of the tragic passing of your client, who had been working until the last year of her life due to complications with cancer. You had already drafted her will and trust, so you know her real assets will be properly distributed. If the client had disability insurance, the survivor's benefits could equal up to three months of payments, and a seasoned disability professional will know how to secure that much and possibly even more.

The potential for payments may not stop at a one-to-three month period. The client may also qualify for a one-time death benefit if the insured also had a waiver of premium feature if disabled from their group life insurance policy.

Social Security also provides benefits for disability and death in a variety of different situations.

Avoiding Mistakes

We also advise against the client contacting their insurance company without any preparation. It leads to confusion, which is how fatal claim mistakes occur. The carrier will generally ask what limitations or restrictions the client had. Most insureds often limit their answer to their physical pain, such as being unable to bend, carry, push, pull or lift. Unfortunately, most insureds forget about the cognitive issues and mental demands. For example, pain medication often causes side effects that inhibit the ability to focus, concentrate or stay on task. These cognitive challenges may prevent someone from fulfilling their occupational responsibilities and need to be properly vetted.

A well-versed disability attorney will advise clients on the effective ways to answer claim questions and inquiries and avoid falling into the traps laid by insurance companies that lead to claim delays and denials.

Recommending Useful Insurance Products

Like trusts and estates practitioners, long-term disability attorneys are strategic thinkers and can also advise beyond any immediate injury or illness.

While drafting a will or trust with your client, they may also ask about long-term care insurance. Many people are under the impression that health insurance and Medicare will kick in to pay for long-term care. This is unfortunately not true. Long-term care insurance pays for at home care, assisted living and nursing home care.

Remember, long-term care insurance can protect your clients' estates. For example, hybrid insurance products have features that address some of the shortcomings associated with traditional long-term care policies and provide estate planning options.

Many hybrid long-term care policies include a death benefit that the insurance company pays if the client never needs the long-term care features. Some policies pay a death benefit based on a percentage of the policy value even if the long-term care benefit was fully exhausted. The advantage is obvious -- the policy still retains value even if the long-term care benefit was not used.

Consulting a disability lawyer can help the client choose the right policy, understand the fine print, and assist the family with the claims process.

Looking Forward

Disabling illnesses and injuries don't discriminate and can strike at any time. When a trusts and estates lawyer believes a client may also have a long-term disability or long-term care claim or question, it should also signal a call to action. Contact a nationally recognized long-term disability insurance lawyer to help. Aligning with a disability insurance lawyer can help your client recover disability or long term care insurance benefits and enhance the service they receive under your counsel and guidance. 