Disability Insurance Question

Patty

Is it really worth my time to fill out the paperwork to go on disability?
Seems my company has, both, short-term & long-term coverage on all of us. Corporate FedEx'd the paperwork to me on the 23rd and I have ignored looking at it. Here's my dilemma:

Never been on disability. I like my job. I just want to work.
Not familiar with this stuff. No experience in this area, whatsoever.
Want to WORK, NOT collect insurance like a slacker.
Not sure what I should do. HELP!

Question:
Are there issues I am not taking into consideration here? Keep in mind that within the next year, (could be anytime between now & one year),
my surgeon said that I have to undergo surgery for Aneurysm #4. So, should I be going on short-term disability, even for a lousy week, to disqualify any chance of THIS from being considered a PRE-EXISTING
CONDITION when THE NEXT SURGERY happens? I'm wondering what I should know TODAY to prevent me from making a mistake that I will find out down the road when it is too late.

Anyone with any experience or opinions out there? Your input is greatly appreciated.

Debookkeeper

Patty -

By all means, absolutely fill out the paper work. I don't have any personal experience with disability insurance, and there has to be someone who can assist you in all those papers! I am a firm believer that you always need to cover your ass, because no one will do it for you. Any one who knows your work history/ethic will NOT consider you a slacker!! Here is an example. A good friend of mine who worked for 18 years with a docs office became ill 2 years ago. Today, they still can not find the problem, she is right now in Michigan at a specialist and has been for a month! She too has excellent insurance (hubby works at a hospital) this institute she is in will not adjust rates to what insurance says they will pay, she has to pay the remainder out of pocket - that day before she gets the treatment. ALso - this is out of network - big deductible as well. Anyhooo, she has been on disability, and just recently the disability insurance sued social security to have social security disability take over. I cannot emphasize enough that you need to take care of yourself, because obviously life is way to unpredicatable as you can attest to that!

Take care, Deb

reveivl

Take the money, Patty, you paid into the program, now take it back out! As you suggest, it will establish that this is a bonafide claim both now and in the future.

Don't get stuck in the 'I didn't pay for it, so I'm not really entitled to it'. You did pay for it, you worked hard for it, it's part of what your company pays you each week.

When I fell on my head, all I had to do was hand the papers to the doctor and a week later I had the first installment. (Maybe it's easier here.) Not claiming is like paying for fire insurance for years and then when your house burns down saying "I'm not some welfare bum, I built this house once by myself, I'll do it again!"

Just my thoughts.

Be careful, perhaps, about advertising that you are 'working' again, too, some insurance companies can be pretty nasty about that. Remember, insurance companies are in business to receive money, not pay it out.

__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science)

Patty

Bumping this up....

Hopefully no one needs this information anytime soon but I thought I would tell you what happened regarding this issue.

First of all, keep in mind that eligibility is not an issue here. Three aneurisms, with ONE more (#$) to look forward to, IS the issue.

My surgeon's nurse, and my Dr. friend, both told me to cover my butt (Dr. friend used a different word, however ). See, I'm really more the type to jump right into my job, rather than collect short term disability bennies, even if it is only on a part-time basis at first, HOWEVER, when you read the "small print" on the insurance doc's, it says that any future, on-going illness that was a part of THIS illness will not qualify for future disability bennies UNLESS THIS CURRENT ILLNESS incorporates the disability bennies. See the problem?
And, to further give me ulcers, I have already been told that the #4 aneurysm is the worse of the 4 and has higher risks associated with it! (Great! I may be the RAINMAN of the site in the near future! Can I be grandfathered in, now? ) SO, in order to cover my "buns" I need to create that paper trail NOW...just in case.

So, the point of this thread, although I hope never needed by you, might contain some valuable information for someone out there. Just wanted to share with you.

P.S. Would I be grandFATHERED or grandMOTHERED? Hmmm...

R&S Exteriors

Great Advice.

The Ins Comanies are always trying to find a way, in the small print, not to pay claims. Punishing someone with a good work ethic is stupid (IMO) but it's a loophole they use to screw people.

Patty

You are so right, R & S. Isn't it pathetic when 100 people, including two doctors, say, "Good that you read that" - - "don't screw yourself" - - "be loyal to yourself, NOT the insurance company"....etc...?

All I want to do is return to my job a bit earlier than the doc would like and thought that, with the boss' permission, (which, incidentally I not only got, BUT he also said he'd play chauffeur for me...nice guy ), I could ease into it on a part-time basis. No disability, no charity whatsoever. And, I find out that my good ethics would screw me in the end? Go figure.

Maybe that's my future....lobbyist for good causes.... ...