So what if you can do some of the duties of your job, but not all of the duties of your job? Under most long-term disability benefit plans, you are still considered totally disabled if you can’t successfully complete all duties at your job. Now, why is that?
First, what is the definition of “disability”?
Most insurance companies define the term disability to say that you cannot perform all of the main duties of your regular occupation or your own occupation. They all have some variation of the same words, but they all essentially mean the same thing. The rulings have been, if you can’t perform all of the essential duties of your job, then you are considered disabled under the policy.
Examples of not being able to perform your job duties properly
If you can do, for example, let’s say part of your job is to make phone calls and you can make phone calls for two hours a day, but you can’t make phone calls for eight hours a day. If that is the case and you cannot perform all of the duties of your regular occupation.
Perhaps you can lift up to 20 pounds, but you can’t lift up to 50 pounds. You’re working a warehouse and sometimes you have to lift packages that are 10 pounds and sometimes you have to lift packages that are 40 pounds, but your doctors have limited you to lifting no more than 20 pounds. Well, then you can’t do all of the essential duties of your own occupation. As a result, you should be considered disabled under that policy.
Just because you can do one or two of the essential duties of your own occupation, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do all of them. Most policies require that you have to be able to do all of your duties of your own occupation for that two year period after your date of disability and after the elimination period in order for you to get disability benefits. Just because you can do some doesn’t mean you can do all. If you can’t do all, then most likely you are disabled as defined by the policy.
I hope this video has been helpful. If you have questions, of course you can enter your comment in the comment section below or you can give me a call or send me an email. Happy to chat with you.
