If you are on a return to work plan at your current job but are offered a job with a different employer, is it advisable to take it. The reason I ask is that the insurance company and current employer are making it a living hell but there is a great benefits plan and I worry that if I reinjury or twig the previous injury it may not be covered by new benefits. Any help appreciated.
You can always change jobs. Your current LTD claim is not tied to your current employment. If you have a relapse after going with new employer then you could re start your current LTD claim if you are still in the covered relapse period set out in your Policy (usually 4-6 months).
However, there are some LTD Policies that only allow the recurrence period if you return to the original employer. This is something to check in your group benefits plan.
The downside of changing jobs is that once you pass relapse period for current claim you may not qualify to make new claim under new employer LTD plan until you have worked continuously for a year or two.
Is this information dependent on the insurer (and their wordings)? Is your second premise based on a “pre-existing” conditions clause of sorts?
Doesn’t the new insurer need to “work” together with the new employer? I assume the new employer is under no obligation to make any accommodations?
I think some employers don’t cover pre-existing conditions at all.
My former large employer did and didn’t say after how long I had worked but I think it was 2 years.
I didn’t need it until after 5 years so that time limit didn’t matter.
If they had refused covering a pre-existing condition then I would have no coverage.
Sorry for rambling.
Bottom line is I would be really careful about taking any jobs because I will always have a pre-existing condition.
I am late answering this by several years, but here we go. For the first part, yes, my premise is based on the pre-existing condition wording in the new group policy.
For the second part, the insurer has limited obligations to work with any employer, including a new employer. Their only obligations are what is specified in the policy, and it is usually very open ended for them to decide. The new employer is obligated to make accommodations if they hire you. Once you are an employee, they have the obligation to accommodate the employee to the point of undue hardship.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
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