How much your long term disability claim is worth is based on several factors, including but not limited to your age, the amount of the benefit, and what deductions (offsets) apply. The insurance company will then want to discount the amount of your benefits by a percentage to account for you having the benefit of the money as a lump sum and also for the risks of future uncertainty related to your claim and health. The right approach to negotiating and setting your long term disability claim is more complicated than using this calculator. You should speak to a Long Term Disability Benefits Lawyer for advice.

This calculator uses 65 as the end date to determine how long in the future benefits will be paid. If your plan or policy is different you will have to adjust accordingly. Also, the calculator does not consider the months within the given year where you may qualify for benefits. Once the amount of the benefit is known it is common practice to reduce the total by an amount to account for the fact that you are receiving the money all at once (rather than payments spread monthly over many years). This discounting considers inflation (money today is worth more than it will be in the future) and interest (you are able to earn income on the money).After the total amount of the benefit has been discounted, you must then consider whether further discounting of the policy value should apply in order to reach a settlement. The insurance company will consider various contingencies when deciding how much they will be willing to offer in exchange for a buyout of a policy. Some contingencies you should consider include:

• The type of disabling condition. Is it expected to resolve? Are you expected to be totally disabled long past the end date in the contract? If the insurance company is uncertain about your ability to qualify for benefits to the end date you should expect them to negotiate accordingly. Some illnesses and injuries are expected to resolve with time. Others, like degenerative conditions, are not expected to improve.
• Strength of supportive evidence. Is your family doctor in your corner supporting your disability? A strong doctor supporting your long term disability claim is essential to explain to the insurance company why you are entitled to benefits.
• Need for ongoing treatment. The insurance company expects that ongoing treatment will be needed for most disabling conditions. The need for treatment indicates ongoing medical problems, but it also suggests the potential for improvement. Reviewing the opinions of various experts and specialists will be very important.

• Expert evidence. Opinion evidence from experts carries considerable weight. Does the insurance company have opinions that support their view of your claim? Do you have experts on your side? You will want to consider what these experts say when considering negotiations towards settlement.
• The test for benefits. The test in most policies is "total disability". This means benefits will only be paid if you can meet this level of disability. Now, most policies have a change of definition clause which means what qualifies for "total disability" changes to a more challenging test at a certain point in time. If you have a change of definition clause in your policy you may have considerable challenges negotiating a fair settlement.
• Life expectancy. The end date in most disability policies is 65. If the disabling condition is one that may cause early death the insurance company will seek to reduce the sum they are willing to pay to buyout benefits.

• Return to work potential. If there is a possibility that a return to work is possible you should anticipate that the insurance company will prefer to rehabilitate rather than pay out a large sum in benefits. It is important to consider whether a return to work plan is reasonable based on the disabled worker's skills, education, and experience.
• Potential offsets. Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits is the most likely offset that will apply to a long term disability claim. Most policies will reduce the full amount of CPP Disability from the amount owed. When negotiating, most insurance companies will reduce the anticipated amount of Canada Pension Plan disability benefits payable from any amount they are willing to pay. Why? Because if you are totally disabled until 65 it is likely that you are also considered entitled to CPP Disability.
• Risk of losing your case. It is possible to lose a winning case at trial. It is also possible to spend an enormous amount of time and money at a trial. It's also true that trials are scheduled a long term in the future, and most people need access to financial relief sooner than later. The insurance company will take all of these things into consideration when they negotiate because they know that they can live with more risk than any disabled worker can bear. While this may seem unfair, a prudent long term disability claimant will speak to a long term disability lawyer to learn what reductions are appropriate and which contingencies are unfair.

No calculator can be 100% tailored to your circumstance. Use the calculator as a tool but never consider it a replacement for great legal advice. Speak to the team at Freedom Disability Lawyers today to learn what a fair disability benefits settlement would look like in your case.