If you are pursuing a long-term disability (LTD) claim to get the benefits you deserve, expect this process to be long and stressful. You may struggle to determine the conditions that qualify for LTD, those that are not covered, and how serious symptoms need to be to be approved for benefits.  Plus, LTD policies are written in confuse legal language and each of them defines disability differently. To know if your specific condition qualifies for benefits, speak with a skilled disability attorney. This attorney will help you understand the specifics of your policy and ensure you don’t make mistakes that can ruin your claim. 

Common Myths About LTD

A lot of people believe in the following myths about LTDs:

• Your disability should result from a physical injury. To qualify for LTD, you don’t have to suffer a physical bodily injury. Indeed, a variety of conditions qualify as disabling. Examples of covered illnesses are infectious diseases, digestive disorders, neurological disorders, mental health disorders, and autoimmune disorders. 
• Your policy must specifically list your disability. LTD insurance policies have a list of health conditions that automatically qualify. But some illnesses that could qualify may not be a part of this list. Often, a disability may not result from one injury or illness. Rather, it can occur due to a combination of conditions and injuries that prevent you from working. 
• A diagnosis automatically proves your disability. Vision loss is an example that refutes this claim. although this condition can lead to total disability, not all people who have vision loss cannot work.  Your eligibility for benefits will still depend on factors like the seriousness of the symptoms you experience, how your policy defines disability, and the type of work you do. 

Covered Medical Conditions

Again, you can be approved for LTD benefits even if your condition is not part of your policy’s list of qualifying medical conditions. But your condition should not be on the list of excluded conditions. You need to demonstrate that your condition or symptoms are serious enough to meet the disability definition of your policy. A lot of LTD claim conditions include arthritis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cancer, anxiety, carpal tunnel syndrome, bipolar disorder, asthma, cystic fibrosis, and more. 

Insurance providers will scrutinize your claim before they make an eligible determination. But some health conditions are clearly disabling that insurers will automatically qualify them for benefits. These conditions include amputation, total blindness, and total deafness.