Top Long Term Disability Attorney With the Experience You Need

Long Term Disability (“LTD”) benefits help an insured to replace lost income in the event of an injury or sickness resulting in an inability to work. The difference between LTD benefits and Workers’ Compensation, State Paid FMLA, or Social Security Disability Income benefits is that they are provided by contract. Most people have a LTD policy through their employment or privately purchased through an agent or broker.

The biggest difference between these two types of policies is the underwriting, typical policy terms, and governing law.  Privately purchased disability policies are underwritten for the individual being covered.  Group policies on the other hand are not individually underwritten. They are usually offered by an employer to a class of employees and not specific to the person being insured.  Individual policies are applied for and the premiums are paid for by the insured, separate and apart from an employer. Group policies are made available to employees by an employer or union, and the premiums are paid, at least in part, by the employer.

This is one of the biggest differences between the two types of policies.  Individual policies are governed by State law. Group policies provided by employers are governed by a federal law called ERISA. Under ERISA, many of the remedies If the policy is governed by ERISA, then certain state laws that would otherwise provide relief to the insured are subject to ERISA preemption.