I tend to be blunt and so my opinion can be taken as a lecture especially when I am trying to explain the reasons for my opinion.

The original question was how to buy private disability insurance with a pre-exisisting known condition that will lead to disability because SSDI will not be enough money to provide a living in an expensive part of the country because the poster is averse to living elsewhere.

Shorter answer; probably not possible.

And I also own a nice home in northern California in a nice neighborhood and the price is 1/2 of what the poster says is required. But I don't live in the bay area in and around San Francisco either.

Good advice for anyone; work and save and live below your means.

The day I was hired I signed up for the best supplemental long term disability the company offered. the day I needed it I was glad. The company's complimentary plan would have run out long ago. Mind lasts until 65 when SS kicks in.

The down side is that once you get qualified for SSDI your LTD benefits are off-set by the SSDI, so you end up getting your disability amount, but it is divided between SS and the disability company, plus the tiny cost of living increases in SS.

And I am pretty sure pre-existing conditions were excluded, but it has been so long ago I am not sure.

It is impossible to get private short term or long term disability insurance after you are diagnosed. Otherwise you will be committing fraud and if caught they will not be happy to say the least.

On the other hand a person can get life insurance after becoming disabled. It is not cheap especially depending on what you are on ssdi for.

From my experience if you are on ssdi for a mental reason then most life insurance companies will charge super high rates.

On the other hand if you are on ssdi for say being in a wheelchair then you are more out to get it cheaper but it will still be much more than someone that is not on ssdi.



True story:

A friend of mine smokes 2 packs of cigs a day. He drinks like a fish. His job is very dangerous. He travels out of the country on a regular basis. He is 39. He has a record of drinking while driving. Actually been to jail for it four times.

I could go on and on about him but I think you get the point.

Anyways, he has life insurance with the same company/person that I use.

I'm 47, married with two children. I have no record other than a speeding ticket I got over 25 years ago. My blood work is fine as far as cholesterol, triglycerides, ldl is good, hdl is good etc. I do not smoke nor have I ever, I do not drink nor have I ever. I think you get the point.

Point is my friend has $500k of life insurance and pays $45 per month.

LOL.........I have $250k of life insurance and I pay $209 per month. Simply because I'm on disability.

Now you tell me who is more likely to die. My friend that drinks and drives on a regular basis, single and has sex with anything that moves, travel abroad on regular basis, has a very dangerous job etc..

Or

Me, someone that may leave the house once every couple of weeks to go to the doctor or the like.

People usually throw that suicide thing out but I always tell them that no insurance will pay if that happens.

I can understand us paying more than healthier people but fives times as much is ridiculous and nothing short of highway robbery.

I have been on my wife about getting short and long term disability insurance for a while. She seems to think she will never need it. LOL...you would think her having a husband that once was able to work many hours but now is disabled would open her eyes.

Rake

in new york insurance companies have to pay out for someone who committed suicide if it is more than a year since they bought the policy.

I can only speak from my experience with STD and LTD insurance - an employer paid benefit. I worked for my last employer for about 9 1/2 years and that entire time we had the STD insurance. It was in the last two years there that the LTD benefit was added. Depending on your plan, STD should pay for the first six months and then LTD would pick up and pay until SSNRA (SS Normal Retirement Age). If you qualify for SSD, then LTD would offset the difference. There are always pre-exisiting conditions with LTD. There is usually a 12-month waiting period with a 3-month look back for illness claims. Accidents are usually paid without issue. What this means is if the plan is effective Sept 1, 2013 and you are taken out of work by your physician in within the first year (say June 1, 2014) they will go back to the effective date of Sept 1, 2013 then 3 months prior (June 1, 2013) to see if you were treated for the condition in that three months prior to the plan effective date. If you were, then they will not cover it. If you have the benefit effective date of Sept 1, 2013 and are taken out of work Dec 1, 2014, then they will not have that look back period because you have been on the plan for the 12 months with no claim for that condition. Does that make sense? There are diffierent terms on different employers plans, what I described was my employers. It's hard to explain.

So with me...LTD benefit effective date was Aug 1, 2011. The last day I worked was Dec 28, 2012. I satisfied the waiting period to be covered by LTD, but I was denied both STD and LTD (well, they paid STD for one week). They claim that my medical records do not support my disability...which is a load of crap. My PM dr sent me for a FCE (functional capacity evaluation) and it said I could do sedentary level work. It did not test me in a real working environment, it only tested how much I could lift, push, pull, stuff like that...it was so irrelevant to my work as a financial & human resource manager! I have RSD in both hands and shoulders, left arm and leg, face, both feet, trunk and face. It is very painful and hard to use my hands for very long. My drs have notated it, but the insurance carrier is hanging on to that FCE no matter what the drs say. I have appealed the decision and it was denied, I am getting ready to file my second appeal. Get this, I was approved for Social Security Disability on the first try, I will start receiving it next month.

To me LTD benefits are worthless. These insurance companies are known for collecting premiums and denying claims. There are claims here and there that have been paid without problem, but I think when there is an accident or surgery involved those claims go through a little easier. When there is illness, good luck! Since my second denial, I have researched my carrier online and denial seems to be the norm for them.

If you are really interested in purchasing either of these benefits, read the plan documents THOROUGHLY!!!

Long ago when I started working, straight out of college - was hired on at a busy local hospital. The administrator who took all of us new hires & new nurses told us we should sign up for optional disability, because the part that is payed through the hospital at no extra premium is not enough to live on. Around $200 a month. Best advice anyone ever gave.

I worked there for 5 years, worked at another couple hospitals & returned to roost at the first place 8 years later. By then, policy (or the lady who was willing to give it to us straight) had changed & no one advised us how important it was to sign up for LTD optional plan. There is no medical exam when you are first hired, they cover all employees no matter what & for any "window" (time frame of waiting before they issue payments) from 30 days to several months. I choose 60 days - wish I had made it 30 because you still wait another 30 days to have any income. It just starts to accrue at the end of the waiting period you select. I didn't need it for another 10 years, and then only for a few months. Now after my 2nd back surgery I am in a huge amount of pain and I don't see how I could hold a job - any job. It takes me 10 or 12 hours to get a minimal amount of crappy sleep - I am in severe pain for the first 3 or 4 hours I am first up - and I have no idea what days I am able to get anything at all done. I don't see what job or employer would be satisfied with me drifting in for a few hours whenever I was having a good day & have no problem with me calling off on all the others. If I have a good day I can cook or try to tidy the house, but I move at my own pace & can stop at any point I need to. Have to hire a housekeeper for all routine cleaning like vacuuming or mopping, etc. My once beautiful yard looks like a riot.

Anyway signing up for optional disability is so important. We don't stay young & strong forever, no matter how infallible we feel. I would advise anyone who can, to sign up for LTD and get a shorter waiting period for benefits to kick in.

The company my employer uses is Standard, they have been completely willing to cover my claims at least so far. Now that it doesn't look like I will be returning to work, I hope the worm doesn't turn. We shall see.