My income pre-disability was fairly high, especially given my education and experience. Using my Carrier’s calculations the “any job” definition would be one that pays approx $35 per hour. I’ve not seen any jobs that I would qualify for even close to that amount, with or without a disability. Am I safe to expect that the insurance company is going to be stuck paying me no matter what my health outcome is if I am still collecting LTD when the COD occurs?
After 24 months, LTD benefits will continue only if your disability prevents you from being gainfully employed in any job. Gainful employment is work you are medically able to perform, for which you have at least the minimum qualifications, and which provides you with an income of at least 50% of your indexed monthly earnings before you became disabled.
it’s never safe to assume what an insurer will do! Based on what you are saying it may be harder for the insurer to prove you can’t do other work – but in these situations, sometimes the insurer will reverse course and say they think you can do your old job. They will hire people to do a vocational assessment to determine if you have transferrable skills for jobs that would pay $35 per hour. If their experts determine there are no jobs you can do at hat pay scale, then insurer would likely keep paying benefits. Hard to say for any specific case without having all the information.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-917-7050 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
This is my husbands situation. He worked in the oilfield and wasn’t “educated” at all and made a really high salary. They approved him for the “any occupation”.