Disability Insurance

Do you have disability insurance?

Disability insurance is a weekly or monthly income that is paid when a person is unable to work due to injury or illness. Although each policy is different, the amount is usually derived as either a set amount or a percentage of income. Some people obtain disability insurance through an employer and some purchase it privately. There are also public disability programs, including social security.  In addition, a handful of states have their own disability insurance programs, and federal disability programs are available to some federal employees and veterans.

Disability coverage

Disability insurance coverage depends largely on the individual policy provider. It is very important to ask questions and read the fine print on a policy to know what is covered. Typically, any serious and/or terminal illness or injury that keeps one from working is covered by disability insurance.  People who are disabled can expect to receive 60 to 70 percent of their average earnings.  Two main types of disability insurance are available:

Short-term disability

• This type of disability insurance is designed to cover gaps in working, such as a few months while you recover from an illness or injury. It is sometimes known as sick leave. Many individuals go on short-term disability if they have had a major surgery and the healing process prevents them from working.

Long-term disability

• Long-term disability provides an income for a period exceeding short-term disability coverage. However, each policy is specific in the amount of long-term coverage it provides. It is very possible that employer-provided disability coverage does not include long-term. In this case, additional coverage needs to be purchased to cover a long-term disability.

San Jose insurance coverage disputes

An insurance company is a for-profit business.   Just as any other business would do, an insurance company may try to trim expenses to bolster earnings. One of the easiest ways for the insurer to do this is to deny benefits to claimants. While it is understandable that an insurance company examines claims and denies some of them for reasons that may be proper, it is clear that some insurance companies target legitimate benefit claims in order to boost profits.

An example of this is the insurance company Paul Revere/UnumProvident, which denied coverage to two claimants. The first was a reporter who had her benefits revoked because the insurer argued she could still proofread. The other was a chiropractor who had her benefits terminated because it was alleged she could still perform bookkeeping for her practice—a practice that no longer existed.

In each of these court cases, insurance law attorneys in San Jose of DL Law Group was able to successfully defend the claimants.  Each jury unanimously found Paul Revere/UnumProvident guilty of bad faith and unfair claims practices.

Has your claim been denied? Our San Jose insurance law attorneys can help.

The San Jose bad faith lawyers of the DL Law Group are insurance bad faith experts. We have won millions of dollars in settlements for clients whose claims were denied or underpaid in a San Jose insurance policy dispute. If you are being treated unfairly by an insurer, contact us. We can evaluate your case and decide upon a firm, effective legal strategy.