Long-term disability insurance statistics

In 2013, disability claim payments totals were $9.8 billion. This is an increase from the previous year by 1.6 percent. According to the 2014 Council for Disability Awareness, there are more employers offering long-term disability insurance benefits plans. Of the companies that participated in the annual CDA member Long Term Disability Claims Survey in 2013, just over 214,000 employers made long-term disability plans available to their employers. This was the second year that the number of employers had increased after there were declines from 2009 – 2011.

Even though the number of employers offering long-term disability benefits plans increased, there were fewer employees that had long-term disability coverage. The thinking is that more of the plans are offered to employees on a voluntary basis and not provided to employees.

Seventy-two percent of those receiving payments from group long-term disability policies also qualified to received Social Security Disability insurance benefits. This percentage has remained about the same over the past five years. New claims in 2013 were down about 5.7 percent from the previous year, although they were higher in 2010 and 2011.

The average age of people who file new long-term disability claims is just above 50 years old. This shows how the workforce in the U.S. is getting older. The majority of those who file new claims are women — 56 percent of women and 44 percent of men had new disability claims approved in 2013.

These are just a few of the statistics about long-term disability benefits and claims. If you have filed a claim for benefits and it has been denied, an experienced attorney can provide more information on your options.