Group Long Term Disability insurance (LTD) is intended to protect the income of the firms partners or directors, of counsel, attorneys and staff in the event they suffer an injury or illness. It’s a very inexpensive benefit to purchase yet arguably one of the most important. Group LTD can ultimately cover millions of dollars of potential loss in the event of a permanent disability. Many law firms fail to realize that subtle features and provisions within their group policy can dramatically increase or decrease the payout for a claim until a claim unfortunately occurs.
Through our years of experience working with the legal profession we’ve developed a systematic approach to providing specialized coverage for law firms. As part of the Broad Reach Benefits process, our team provides you with a group LTD plan audit. By providing us with a copy of your current LTD summary plan description and answering a few questions we can produce a detailed assessment of any potential areas of weakness in your current LTD contract. Since each insurance carrier can provide varying levels of contracts it is critical to understand what and how your contract provides protection. Most benefit brokers provide a simple spreadsheet comparison that takes an executive summary view of the benefits and compares prices. This approach will not show the “under the hood” provisions and clauses that will have a dramatic impact on benefit payouts in the event of a claim.
Below are a few questions to consider when thinking about your current group LTD policy:
1. Will my benefit be offset for K-1 distributions (if applicable) on a total disability?
2. Will my benefit be taxable?
3. Will my benefit be offset by individual or group disability plans that I’ve purchased either through the firm, individually or through industry associations?
4. How much will I be paid if I’m working on a limited/part-time basis?
5. Does our contract have Specialty Own Occupation language and what does that really mean?
6. What’s the right mix of Group LTD, Individual Disability Insurance & Excess Disability coverage for Partners?
At Broad Reach Benefits we specialize in working with law firms. We understand that risk can take many different forms. We make sure that our law firm clients have no surprises and have the most comprehensive protection possible. To learn more about how we can you and your firm, please contact any of the Broad Reach Benefits Team!
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