Attorneys Gregory Dell and Stephen Jessup answer a frequently asked question: Do I Have to quit my Job Before Applying for Disability Insurance Benefits? In this video and article know your rights when applying for disability insurance benefits. Learn why getting laid off could effect your disability claim and why you should never quit your job before filing for disability benefits.

GREG DELL: Hi, I’m Greg Dell with attorneys Dell & Schaefer. And I’m here with attorney Steven Jessup. And we’re going to discuss an important question that I received today, which is, “Do I have to quit my job before I apply for disability insurance benefits?” And Stephen, I mean, what do you think about that question?

STEPHEN JESSUP: No. Don’t quit your job. If this is an employer-provided policy, they will all say that the policy ends when employment’s terminated. So if you quit your job and then try to apply after the fact, the insurance company will say, well, you’re not covered.

So when you are applying for disability, usually you just do it while you’re still working. Now if you make the application, you have your date of disability, and then your employer terminates you later, that’s not going to, in almost all circumstances – there are a few small ones – but in almost all circumstances, is not going to affect your rights to your disability claim. So I’ve seen it where people like, ah, I just got sick, and I couldn’t do any more, so I quit because I thought they were going to fire me.

And then they make an application. And there’s really not much that can be done. So if you’re thinking about, hey, I might need to, that’s when it’s probably a good idea to even contact an attorney. Don’t even speak with HR because sometimes a lot of people get kind of worried about what could happen with that conversation.

How Getting Laid Off Could Effect Your Disability Insurance Claim Approval

GREG DELL: And this is such a hard and fast rule that I’ve had in several situations where a client calls me and goes, look, I’ve been working for this company. I’ve really been suffering. There’s rumours of layoffs. But I’ve been working through this condition for them for a year.

And I could be laid off tomorrow or the next day. And I tell that person if they lay you off tomorrow, and you have not missed any work or aren’t out of work because of your disability, it is going to be extremely difficult to get your claim approved because not only whether or not you’re disabled under the policy, but there’s going to be a coverage issue. And a coverage issue is the worst one to have to deal with because then you have no policy whatsoever. It doesn’t even matter if you’re disabled.

So in that situation, this is so extreme that I’ve told that client, you better get to your doctor now if you can’t work, and you’re really struggling, and you can’t do it. Go to the ER, get it documented. And if they fire you tomorrow, you’re OK because you’ve already document that issue.

So absolutely never ever quit your job and then think that you’re going to file. So if you have specific questions, and you’re even considering filing for disability, we highly encourage you to contact any of our disability lawyers, whether it’s myself or Stephen. We’re going to answer all of your questions. We’re going to provide you with initial free consultation and review of your disability policy, which you can easily obtain from your employer.

Your HR Department Is Required By Law To Provide A Copy of Your Disability Insurance Policy

Now you may be worried about asking your employer or HR for this policy. But it’s something that they are required by law to give you. Sometimes you can go online and get it. But we’re really going to need a copy of that policy. And you need to have a copy of that policy so that you as a claimant know what your rights are. So they can’t retaliate against you and fire you because you asked for the policy because that would be a bad situation for them.

STEPHEN JESSUP: And generally, what I even do if people are worried – and you said you can usually download something. It’s not typically the policy, but you can get lot of claim information. But I’ve told people in the past, they say hey, a financial advisor – or even if you say I saw it on TV – said I should have a copy of all my insurance policies be including.

So you ask for all of them. That’s your disability, your life, your dental, your health. They have to make those available. And that kind of doesn’t tip your hat that you might be looking at filing a disability claim.

Never Quit Work Before Filing For Disability Income Benefits

GREG DELL: Right. So never quit work before filing disability. We hope that you find this video helpful for you and that we can answer your questions. We would love for you to subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we do tons of these videos on a regular basis. And we encourage you to watch some of our other videos. And we’re here for you when you’re ready and you need us. Thank you.

If you have questions regarding how to apply for disability income benefits, our disability insurance lawyers are available nationwide to provide you with an immediate FREE consultation to discuss your disability insurance claim.