What Qualifies For Short-Term Disability?

What Qualifies For Short-Term Disability?

Are you also looking for what qualifies for short-term disability? This means you are just as keen on knowing if you qualify for a short-term disability insurance plan.

Well, in simple words, short-term disability is just an instance that puts you in a condition where you are unable to work for a temporary time period, like an illness, injury, or procedure. When any of these instances happen, and you are unable to earn any income, you will qualify for the benefits if you enroll yourself in a short-term disability insurance plan.

If you want to know more about short-term disability and what falls under the umbrella, stay with me till the end of the article, and we shall unfold everything about short-term disability.

What Is A Short-Term Disability? 

When an employee or a working individual is unable to work due to any injuries that are not related to their work, illness, or even pregnancy complications, then the employee is considered to fall under a short-term disability. This is where the short-term disability insurance plans come as a rescue. These insurance plans are primarily developed to help out with certain financial stressors that may come up during the event of an injury, which negatively affects the ability of an individual to work.

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance? 

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance

Short-term disability, or temporary disability insurance, offers monthly payments if an individual is injured or too sick to work. You may expect to get approximately 40% to 70% of your monthly earnings until you recover or are able to get back to work until your benefit period finishes.

A benefit period primarily lasts from three to six months.

Unlike regular health insurance, you will get disability insurance payments directly. You may use them however you wish to.

A maximum of the employers provide short-term disability coverage. However, the length of this cover period and the disability types that it will cover will depend on how the employer?s plan defines disability.

What Does Not Qualify For Short-Term Disability? 

What Does Not Qualify For Short-Term Disability

You asked for what qualifies for short-term disability but you should know the other side also. One has to fall under these qualifying factors to be able to get the benefits of short-term disability insurance from their employer.

Therefore, it is very important that you are aware of what does and what does not qualify under the short-term disability terms. These are the instances that disability insurance will not cover:

  • If an individual loses their occupational license.
  • When one is unable to go to work due to a war.
  • If an individual gets an injury due to active participation in a protest or a riot.
  • If one inflicts an injury onto themselves.
  • When one is in confinement due to committing a crime.
  • If an individual is suffering from a pre-existing condition.

The conditions to qualify for short-term disability differ from one company to the other. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of all the options carefully.

How Does Short-Term Disability Insurance Work?

How Does Short Term Disability Insurance Work

If you are searching for what qualifies for short-term disability then you should know the specifics of disability insurance will differ depending on the insurance provider and the requirements of your state. To date, only New Jersey, California, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, New York, and Rhode Island have made it a requirement for employers to provide short-term disability or family medical leaves to the employees.

Here are the list of insurance options that you may choose from:

  • Traditional Coverage: This is where the employer pays a monthly premium.
  • Contributory Coverage: This is where both the employee and the employer have their share of the contribution.
  • Core Buy-Up Coverage: This is where an employee may purchase additional coverage.
  • Voluntary Coverage: This is where the employee has the entire responsibility for the short-term disability benefits.

If an individual becomes disabled while their plan is still active, they will have to visit a doctor in order to get all the important paperwork about their condition., file a claim, and then wait for its approval. You must be as minute as you can be while you document your condition to dodge any trouble when you file your claim.

?Claimants often don?t document their conditions well enough,? says Jason A. Newfield, who is the founding partner of Frankel and Newfield, P.C.

?I recommend keeping a log or diary so that you can track how you?re feeling from Day 1 since you might not get to the doctor right away and you don?t want to leave any important symptoms or ailments out of your file.? 

You may get approval for your claim within two or three weeks. This means you will just have to wait for 14 days from the day you file the claim to receive your insurance payments. You will receive the payments till the day you can get back to work or the end of the disability period, whichever comes to an end first.

What Medical Conditions Do The Short-Term Disability Insurance Cover? 

What Medical Conditions Do The Short-Term Disability Insurance Cover

When you are filing for a short-term disability claim, the type of your illness or injury will decide if you qualify for it. Here are all the situations under which you may qualify for short-term disability insurance:

  • Pregnancy.
  • Muscle or ligament fractures, strains, or sprains.
  • Digestive problems such as hernias and gastritis.
  • Musculoskeletal disorders that affect the spine, back, hips, knees, and shoulders.
  • Mental health issues also include anxiety and depression.

Benefits Of Short Term Disability Insurance 

Short-term disability insurance offers multiple benefits when you compare them to other insurance plans. If you actually want to reap the short-term disability insurance rewards, employers need to measure the long-term benefits with the up-front costs. For example, if the employees are not able to afford participation in the short-term disability insurance plan, it may end and not increase their morale.

Employers who can balance the cost and the benefits might be able to:

  • Retain the valued members of the team.
  • Attract new talent.
  • Enhance the financial wellness of an employee.
  • Improve engagement among employees.

Frequently Asked Questions!! (FAQs)

Q1. How Long Is Most Short-Term Disability?

Ans. While there are different policies, a general short-term disability insurance lasts from three to six months.

Q2. Why Would A Short-Term Disability Be Denied?

Ans. There are multiple reasons why a short-term disability contract may get denied. There are instances that do not qualify under the short-term disability insurance requirements.

Q3. What Qualifies As A Disability? 

Ans. Disability is any condition that restricts an individual from engaging in any gainful activity or earning a regular income.

The Bottom Line 

By now, you know what qualifies for short-term disability or how you can get one from your employer. It is always better to have short-term disability insurance, as you would never know what the future holds.

It is always better to be safe than sorry. Hence, apply for insurance as soon as possible so that you never land in any financial trouble while being disabled to work or earn.

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upasana sarbajna

Upasana is a budding journalist who has a keen interest in writing. She considers writing as therapeutic and is most confident when she writes. She is passionate about music, movies and fashion. She writes in a way that connects with the audience in a personal level. She is optimistic, fun loving and opinionated.

Upasana is a budding journalist who has a keen interest in writing. She considers writing as therapeutic and is most confident when she writes. She is passionate about music, movies and fashion. She writes in a way that connects with the audience in a personal level. She is optimistic, fun loving and opinionated.

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