BEST Life Short Term Disability

Q. How are benefits covered?
A. Your plan includes an Elimination Period, a Weekly Benefit, and a Benefit Duration Maximum, all of which determine how benefits are covered:

1. Elimination Period: is the amount of days employees must be continuously disabled before they are eligible for benefits. Your plan lists the amount of days employees must wait for an accident and for a sickness. Some plans apply the same wait time to accidents and sicknesses.
2. Weekly Benefit: the amount employees are eligible for. This amount will be based on a percentage of their weekly earnings or a flat dollar amount.
3. Benefit Duration Maximum: the maximum amount of weeks benefits are paid while employees are disabled. After the maximum is met, no more benefits will be paid for that disability.

In addition, some plans may have a Pre-existing Condition. This provides the number of months a disability is excluded from coverage before and after an employee's effective date. Some plans exclude the same number of months to a disability existing before and after their effective date.

For exact information on your benefits, please refer to your plan's Certificate of Insurance.

Q. When are employees considered disabled?
A. Employees are considered totally disabled if they cannot perform material and substantial duties of their regular occupation due to a sickness or injury, and are not working in any occupation. They must be under appropriate care of a doctor, and they may be required to be examined to determine if they are totally disabled and for how long. (The loss of a professional or occupational license or certification does not qualify as a disability.)

In addition, some plans may have a Partial Disability Benefit. This benefit covers partial disabilities due to a previously covered sickness or injury, and provides additional assistance while employees are working part-time. For more information about this benefit, please refer to your Certificate of Insurance.

Q. How does the plan work?
A. When employees become totally disabled, they can download a Short Term disability claim form from the BEST Life website, and have the employer fill out the employer section. The employee and their physician will need to complete the apporpirate sections before submitting the claim form to BEST Life.

BEST Life will then calculate their weekly benefit. After the Elimination Period is met, we will send employees a check every week until they are no longer disabled, the Benefit Duration Maximum is met, or they are no longer eligible for benefits (due to death, or failure to provide proof of continuing disability, etc.).

Q. Can other sources of income be deducted from Short Term Disability benefits?
A. Yes. Income employees receive or are eligible to receive is deducted from their weekly Short Term Disability benefit. Your Certificate of Insurance lists what sources of income qualify for this.

Q. How are benefits calculated?
A. If your benefit is based on a percentage of salary, BEST Life will use the calculation below to determine the weekly benefit. If your benefit uses a flat dollar amount, skip to Step 3.

Step 1. Multiplies employee's reported weekly earnings by plan's percentage.

$800 weekly earning
X 70% Plan Benefit
$560

Step 2. Compares amount to maximum weekly benefit allowed on plan. The lesser of the two amounts is selected.

Maximum Weekly Benefit Allowed is $1,000.

$560 is less than the maximum and still qualifies.

Step 3. Then, subtracts any Deductible Sources of Income.

$560 amount
-$100 deductible income
$460

Step 4. This total amount becomes the Short Term Disability benefit.

Plan pays a weekly benefit of $460

Amounts shown are for illustration purposes only. Actual amounts may vary.

Q. How do employees file a claim?
A. To start, download a Short Term Disability claim form from our website. The employer, the employee's physician and the employee will then need to fill out sections of the claim form. Once completed, submit it to: