Disability Insurance ensures that the beneficiary’s earned income remains protected in the event of the beneficiary falling victim of a disability.

There are many types of disability insurances:

1. National Social Insurance Programs:

The most important disability insurance is provided by the national governments to
all its citizens in most of the developed countries. In the United Kingdom this
insurance is known as the National Insurance, whereas in the United States of
America it is known as the Social Security. The aim of this kind of national insurance
is provide insurance for the people who are either not insured or are under-insured.
The idea is to ensure that nobody slips below the poverty line due to disability.

2. Disability insurance cover by employer:

Since occupational hazards are one of the main causative agents of disability, it is only
natural that the second most important disability insurance is the insurance cover
provided by the employer to the employee .


3. Individual disability insurance policies:

The self-employed and the ones who are not covered by the employer may purchase
disability insurance from the open market. There are a number of companies in the
open market providing disability insurance. Premiums and available benefits vary from
company to company. So one has to judiciously weigh out the options before one
purchases a disability insurance.

There are two types of disability insurance in the open market:

Short term disability policy: These types of policies have a waiting period of 0-14 days and a maximum benefit period of two years.

Long term disability policy: These types of policies have a waiting period of several weeks to several months. But here the maximum benefit range from a few years to the rest of the insurer’s life.

Open market disability insurance policies have two different protection features:

Non cancelable: Here the company cannot cancel the policy except in the event of non payment of premiums. This gives the beneficiary the right to renew the policy every year without an increase in the premiums. The insurance company is also bound not to reduce the benefits offered initially.

Guaranteed renewable: Here the beneficiary has the right to renew the policy with same benefits. The company does not have the right to cancel the policy either. But here the company has the right to increase the premiums if it has been done so with all the other same policy holders.

In addition to the traditional disability policies, there are several other options like the additional purchase options, the co-ordination of benefits, the cost of living adjustment, the residual or partial disability rider, the return of premium and the waiver of premium which can also be considered while purchasing disability insurance from the open market.

The options are available to lead a dignified life in spite of becoming handicapped. It would be wise to plan for any such eventuality. However the fact remains that the choices are limited for the poorer sections of the developing and the under developed countries.

People with disabilities or persons who acquire a disability in the course of a profession deserve special care and treatment. The lawyers who specialize in this field are known as disability lawyers.

When does a disabled person approach a disability lawyer? If the disabled have faced:

- Discrimination in employment.
- Discrimination in Housing.
- Discrimination in access to public transport.
- Discrimination in access to public accommodation.
- Discrimination by relations.
- Discrimination by associations.

Then they ought to contact a disability lawyer to fight for their legal rights.

If any person has obtained a physical injury while working then a disability lawyer helps that person to collect compensation from Social Security. Social Security awards disability benefits to individuals who have a physical or mental health problem severe enough to prevent them from engaging in an occupation.


Now, the natural question that arises is whether a disability lawyer is required to file a claim at the Social Security? The answer is in the negative. All the complainant has to do is to social security office and notify them that an appeal has to be filed. The complainant then has to complete the paper work sent in by the social security and return it.

The next question is whether the disability lawyers increase the chances of winning the case. They might be able to do so at the initial claim phase, first appeal phase and the disability hearing phase as well. But their greatest impact is at the disability hearing phase. Here the claimant’s lawyer can present a rationale based on the lawyer’s knowledge of social security rules and regulations and his own convincing capabilities before the administrative law judge as to why the claimant deserves to be given the disability benefits.

Now comes the question as to how expensive are disability lawyers? Lawyers are expensive. However the in the case of disability lawyers, they receive a percentage of the claimant’s disability benefits as their fee. In the United States the maximum a disability lawyer can claim is 25 percent of the back payment. This system that regulates how disability lawyers are paid is very beneficial to the disabled in a number of ways.

First of all, the claimants do not have to find resources to pay the lawyers’ fees upfront. This makes the issue of finding representation so much easier. Secondly, the lawyer has not to be paid anything unless the case is won. This puts the onus on the lawyer to win the case to earn the bread for his claimant and himself as well.

As to the question of when to get a disability lawyer, the claimant can obtain a disability lawyer at any point in the process. But it is really advisable to have a lawyer at a hearing as according to statistics, the chances of winning are increased by 50 percent. Also, if claimants who have been denied disability claims appoints a lawyer, this will typically mean that a disability hearing has become mandatory.

If you have applied for disability and been denied for benefits or are at the point of considering filing for Social Security Disability, the issue of representation becomes important.

To find some to handle your disability case is not very difficult. All you have to do is to either browse the web, or call up your state’s bar association or use the yellow pages or rely on an informed referral

Now the question would be who to choose? Is it the disability attorneys with maximum years of experience that you should choose?

Maybe you should do so. But there are other factors that should be taken into consideration before you finalize an attorney.

It is always advisable to choose a disability attorney who specializes in disability claims than one who takes up such cases once in a while as he will be knowledgeable with the ways of social security system.

Disability attorneys do a great many things to make sure that a social security disability claim is not lost. They gather all the medical records of the claimant.  They also obtain detailed statements from the claimant’s attending physicians. At the time of the hearing, the disability attorneys bring along with them a thorough understanding of the rules and regulations of the Social Security System that helps in strengthening the claimant’s case.


Not only that, the attorney will be more in a more competent position than the claimant to dispute the findings of the examiner who had initially denied the claim. Claimants usually have no legal background and so will not be knowledgeable about the intricacies of the disability system. So it makes better sense on the part of the claimant to engage a disability attorney to represent his/her case.

The disability attorneys will see to it that the claimants are rewarded the most favorable onset date for the commencement of their benefits. The date of onset and the date of entitlement determine how much the claimant will receive as back pay. Therefore, to get the maximum benefit it is important to prove the earliest possible onset.

The attorneys are paid a percentage of the back pay that has been awarded to the claimant. So it is in the interest of the attorney to get the maximum back pay for his complainant.

Winning or losing a social security disability claim could very well be the difference between becoming homeless with no medical care and a secured life. It is not only the basic financial support that the social security disability provides. Social security also extends medical care under the Federal Medicare Program to the affected that can prove a lifeline to the disabled. Becoming disabled in itself is a traumatic experience. One can very well do without any added worries that it brings.

Therefore it makes sense to allow a disability attorney to guide you through the social disability process. Also, one has to tread carefully when it comes to choosing the right disability attorney for representing oneself at the social security disability hearing.