What if someone on LTD finds a new job part-time or full-time. Will the insurance company know that you are working? How will they find out about it?
Social Media, spying on you, a neighbour reports you.
Lots of possibilities.
Can the insurer ask you to provide income reports from the CRA?
Yes they can. Working while collecting LTD and not declaring when you have an obligation to report is not only a breach of contract it is Insurance fraud. Not ever a wise move.
my case:My son and i started a food business several years before i turned to be on LTD. Until now.it has negative cash flow. I work with out payment to help my son. I do the work that i can manage coz i have medical limitation. Will this be against the rule of LONG TERM DIS ABILITY/
ADEL
I would not classify what you do as work per se as you are just volunteering your time to help your son. If your name is on the business it could cause you issues–but if you are not claiming any income on taxes then I don’t see that as being an issue.
That said-an Insurer may likely view it differently.
What if someone was denied LTD and suing the insurer. Can he/she work during the lawsuit?
If you have not been disclosing your ongoing help to your son’s business to your LTD insurer, then you may not be in compliance with your policy.
I assume your initial LTD application and every insurance form you signed thereafter made it clear that you must tell the LTD insurer if you performed ANY WORK, whether or not you received a wage or remuneration for that work. This included any work you did that resulted in any income being paid to somebody else (i.e. your son). You also needed to declare any self-employment, which includes any businesses you operate, whether or not they make a profit. The insurance company also asks about volunteer work you may do.
The insurer is asking these questions about “working” and income to get at a few things. Are you “working” and making income directly or indirectly? Is this more income than what you are allowed to make under your policy which is often zero, and should it be deducted from your payment? Does this work, whether paid or not, demonstrate you are capable of being gainfully employed and therefore not eligible for disability insurance?
Laypeople like us on a forum may worry you or reassure you, but if you are worried you should ask a lawyer to review the specifics of your policy or case.
My application for LTD definitely asked me about any work I was doing (I’m not sure it said anything about volunteering but it may have).
I dont think you are under any contractual obligation once you are cut off. Hence, cannot be taken as insurance fraud or lack of informing them. With cut off or denied claim have 0 responsibility toward the insurance. The only thing is if they discover, it could hurt your case if it goes to trial as they may say that you are not disabled since you were working.
They may as or not, and you are not obligated to provide anything since you are no longer under any contract/agreement with the insurance. Once they cut you off, they have terminated the agreement with you.
As i said earlier the only disadvantage of working while litigating, is that if caught, they might use that at trial against you and say that you are capable of working and might get sympathetic judge to not award any compensation/damages or put you back on claim.
Under the policy a person would have a good faith obligation to report changes in circumstances like this to the insurance company. If not reported, they typically find out through routine surveillance (in person or online) or often it is mentioned in notes and reports they receive from the claimant’s doctor.
I cannot stress how important it is to get out in front of this by advising the insurer of the intent to try and do part time work. A person receiving LTD is always fighting negative stereotypes and if they “catch” you working and receiving LTD, they will immediately make you out to be a fraud…which is a negative stereotype many people hold either consciously or unconsciously. To protect yourself from such unfair bias, you need to make sure everything you do is the opposite of what a “dishonest fraud person” would do. Even if you are not actually a fraud, you have to avoid the “appearance of impropriety” because of how set in stone these negative stereotypes and biases are in our society.
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 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
1 Like