Disability Insurance Claims for Accountants and the AICPA Disability Policy
Why do disability companies misconstrue the occupational duties of an accountant?
Accountants should never allow a disability company to minimize their job to the ability to sit in a chair. Accounting is a very cognitively demanding job with very demanding clients and strict deadlines. Disability claims examiners are trained to ignore the actual duties an accountant must perform and instead superficially review medical records to determine if an accountant must sit at a computer for 6 hours or more a day. An accounting job is so much more than just sitting in front of a computer as accountants are required to travel to clients offices, gather financial data, routinely attend meetings with clients, analyze extensive financial data and prepare time sensitive reports.
In order to evaluate the duties of your occupation the disability carrier may ask for a copy of your calendar, a list of the number of clients you have, copies of taxes returns, and monthly profit and loss statements.
In the video above disability insurance attorneys Cesar Gavidia and Gregory Dell discuss the common issues we see in accountant disability insurance claims and provide tips for obtaining disability income claim approval.
Is the AICPA disability policy good for accountants?
For a group disability policy, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), disability is better than your average disability policy. In the AICPA policy, the insured must be working as an accountant at least 30 hours a week at the time of disability to keep the policy in force. The AICPA policy also limits your ability to collect the full monthly benefit and work in another occupation. As opposed to a private disability policy which allows the insured to take the policy with them and work in another occupation. Our disability lawyers have helped hundreds of accountants nationwide to collect disability benefits.
Total v. Residual Disability Claims for Accountants
Most accountants have individual private disability policies and these policies usually allow an accountant to collect residual disability benefits if they either reduce their hours or eliminate certain duties. In some cases, we have had accountant clients that have been able to collect their full monthly disability benefit and work in an occupation with different types of job duties. Our job is to help you plan so that you can maximize the benefits under your disability policy and engage in another type of work should you desire to do so.
Appropriate Medical Support Is Essential For Disability Claim Approval
The most important evidence in any claim for disability benefits is appropriate medical support from your treating doctors. Most accountants we have represented are disabled due to a physical medical condition that results in secondary cognitive difficulties. In our accountant disability video we discuss all of the issues around how to present the best evidence of cognitive limitations. The disability company will closely scrutinize your medical records and require that you are treating with the doctors that are appropriate to your diagnosis(s).
The medical records must be detailed, which means your complaints must be detailed and any objective finding must be documented. It is important that you undergo any testing and that you follow-up with any recommended treatments, medications, and doctor consult referrals. When helping accountants to obtain disability benefits, our disability lawyers work very closely with you and your treating doctors. If we don’t think you have enough medical support, then we will recommend additional medical treatment that will help support your claim.
Every Disability Company Sells Different Disability Policies and You Should Know About Your Disability Company
The language in your disability policy is specific to you and most disability policies contain different language. Every company sells different disability policies and every disability company has their own methods for handling a long-term disability claim. We have seen every type of disability policy. Our lawyers have handled thousands of disability claims with every disability insurance company and we know exactly what it takes to get your benefits paid. We want you to learn about your disability company by searching our website for information about your disability company. You will be in a much better position to collect disability benefits if you know as much as possible about your disability insurance company. We encourage you to contact any of our disability attorneys for a free initial consultation to discuss your long-term disability insurance benefit claim.
Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits
Submit a Strong Appeal Package
We work with you, your doctors, and other experts to submit a very strong appeal.
Sue Your Disability Insurance Company
We have filed thousands of disability denial lawsuits in federal Courts nationwide.
Get Your Disability Application Approved
Prevent a Disability Benefit Denial
Negotiate a Lump-Sum Settlement
Our goal is to negotiate the highest possible buyout of your long-term disability policy.