Protection in the short term can help your long term finances

Short-term disability insurance can help provide peace of mind, because it provides you with replacement of a portion of your income if you become disabled due to an illness, injury, accident or have a baby.

If you have short-term disability insurance and you are disabled under the terms of the contract, you typically start receiving benefit payments after a short elimination period. Those benefits vary based on your disability and can last from several days or weeks up to a maximum period of 26 weeks, depending on the language in your policy. Your benefits generally equal a percentage of your earnings and can be used to pay for any expenses you might have.

You become eligible for coverage when you’ve worked for your employer for a certain amount of time – typically 30 days to six months.

Your employer may typically either pay all or a portion of the premium for your short-term disability coverage.

To qualify, you must be unable to work due to an illness, injury or accident that is not related to work.

Depending on your policy, you may be eligible to receive benefit payments for up to 26 weeks if deemed to be disabled. Anything longer than that would be paid by a long-term disability insurance policy. Long-term disability payments typically start after short-term disability payments end, and can last for as long as you are disabled up to your normal retirement age (according to ssa.gov).

If the same disability recurs within a certain amount of time, you don’t have to satisfy the elimination period again, so your benefits would begin right away if you are determined to be disabled under the terms and provisions of the policy. If a new disability occurs, you will need to satisfy the elimination period before you can receive benefit payments if you are determined to be disabled under the terms and provisions of the policy.

It’s a waiting period between the time when your disability begins and the time when you begin receiving benefit payments during which time you must remain disabled. This timeframe is typically 7 or 14 days.

That depends on your needs and what percentage of your salary you think you would need if you were unable to work.

Typically, you would get it through your employer, though you can purchase it on your own. It tends to be more expensive if you purchase it on your own.

This is determined under the terms and provisions of the policy. Check with your benefits representative for your company’s specific plan details.

You can use the payments for anything you see fit. They can help cover any medical expenses, you can use them to pay day-to-day expenses, or anything else you want.

Every policy is different, but typically short- and long-term disability insurance will not cover things like intentionally self-inflicted injuries, loss of professional or occupational license or certificate, or injuries that happened while committing a crime or during war or an act of war, whether its declared or undeclared. It also may not cover pre-existing conditions, like a disability you were treated for in a specific period of time before you signed up for the policy.

Coverage typically ends when employment is terminated. Check with your benefits representative for your company’s specific plan details.

They can be. Please seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

If you are receiving income from another insurance policy, retirement benefits or a government program, such as workers’ compensation, you may not be eligible, or your disability benefits may be reduced.

The amount you receive depends on your pre-disability earnings and the benefit percentage in your policy.

As soon as possible after you’ve been disabled. If you have short- or long-term disability insurance from Equitable, you can obtain a claim form from your employer. If your disability is scheduled, such as surgery or child birth, you can file a claim prior to the event to help speed up the process.

You’ll need your personal contact information, work schedule, reason for not being able to work, last day worked, first day of missed work, information about your condition and the contact information for your treating physician.

This varies by carrier. If you have short-term disability from Equitable, you can either use our telephonic claim filing process by calling (866) 274-9887 or complete the paper form and mail it to us. 

This varies by carrier. If you have Short- or Long-Term Disability from Equitable, you’ll typically have a short-term disability claim decision within 10 business days and a long-term disability claim decision within 30 business days from when we received the appropriate completed claim form. If it looks like it will take longer than that, we will let you know as soon as possible and explain why it’s taking longer than expected.

Your claim analyst will work with you throughout the process and can help you design an appropriate return-to-work schedule when you are no longer disabled. Please notify them when you know your return-to-work date.