What Is Short-Term Disability? Here's How to Apply for a Leave

Are you worried about lost income from work because of a health issue? Short-term disability insurance gives you monthly payments when you’re unable to work due to an illness or injury. While long-term disability insurance covers you for a longer period of time, you’re statistically much more likely to use short-term disability at some point in your career—about 5% of working Americans experience a short-term disability each year.

What is short-term disability insurance, how does it work, and how can you get it? We have the answers.

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance?

Short-term disability insurance provides you with partial income replacement if you’re temporarily unable to work due to an illness, injury, or other medical condition. It can be part of a benefits package through your employer, but you can also buy insurance privately.

A few states offer short-term disability benefits for its residents, but this article covers plans from private insurance companies. One report from the Society for Human Resource Management notes that about 61% of employers include short-term disability in their benefits packages. Many employees end up using this coverage. In fact, one in four of today’s 20-year-olds can expect to be out of work for at least a year because of a disabling condition.

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance vs. Worker’s Comp?

Short-term disability insurance usually doesn’t cover incidents that happened on the job—work-related injuries are usually covered by workers' compensation, although some short-term disability plans will supplement workers' comp benefits.

Most employers are required to provide workers’ comp, while only a few states legally require companies to offer short-term disability insurance.

What Is Short-Term Disability Insurance vs. Long-Term Disability Insurance?

Short-term disability insurance covers a few months’ time following an illness or injury. Long-term disability covers a longer period of time, typically a few years, but in some cases until you retire.

Long-term disability plans have a longer waiting period, typically around 90 days, before you can earn benefits. This period is usually called an elimination period. Short-term disability insurance has shorter elimination periods, typically 1-4 weeks. This means that you can receive short-term disability benefits while you’re waiting to qualify for long-term disability.

You don’t always have to have sign up for both short-term and long-term disability plans, but many employers offer both.

What Is Short-Term Disability vs. Medical Leave?

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles you to up to 12 weeks unpaid leave due to a physical or mental problem (you can also take this leave to care for a family member). While the leave is unpaid, FMLA has the advantage of safeguarding your job so that you can return to it.

What Qualifies You for Short-Term Disability?

While each plan sets its own requirements, these are some common examples of conditions that could be covered by short-term disability insurance if they prevent you from working:

• injury from an accident
• recovery from a surgery
• mobility impairment, such as an inability to walk or use your hands due to injury or illness
• an illness that lasts longer than the elimination period, for example a long-term stomach disease
• chronic back pain

What Is Short-Term Disability for Pregnancy?

The U.S. does not guarantee paid maternity leave for women who are pregnant or recovering from childbirth. Although some companies offer paid maternity leave, it's common for employees to take short-term disability leave to cover some of the time off they need for recovery and bonding.

But when it comes to short-term disability for pregnancy, plans vary in what they’ll cover. Some will only cover pregnancy or childbirth complications and not symptoms due to a typical pregnancy or delivery. Others grant a few weeks of paid time off before and following childbirth, but only if the plan subscriber signs up before getting pregnant.

Reasons Short-Term Disability Can Be Denied

Like most types of insurance, short-term disability plans have many exclusions, besides not usually covering workplace injuries. Typically they won’t cover preexisting conditions, so you can’t use it for a disability that happened before you signed up for the plan.

There are many other reasons short-term disability can be denied. Each insurance determines their own exclusions. Commons reasons your short-term disability claim could be denied are if you get injured due to:

• war
• participating in a riot or protest
• inflicting the injury onto yourself (for example due to a mental disorder)
• committing a crime
• being incarcerated
• driving a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol
• using drugs illegally or abusing alcohol or marijuana
• a risky activity, such as a car race or bungy jumping
• participating in a sport

Some policies exclude mental disorders and illnesses; others don’t. It’s also common for short-term disability to exclude conditions such as chronic pain or chronic fatigue symptoms.

How Does Short-Term Disability Work?

If you think your condition qualifies you for short-term disability insurance, here’s what you need to do to get benefits:

1. Sign up for a short-term disability insurance plan when you join an employer (or sign up privately for a plan).
2. Work for a certain amount of time before you’re eligible—usually about a month.
3. When an illness or injury occurs and you have to be away from work, see a doctor and tell your manager.
4. Discuss filing for disability with your doctor so they can get started on the paperwork. Your doctor might give you a return-to-work date or estimate when you can return. In some cases, it might be too early for the doctor to make a prediction.
5. File a claim through your insurance company. Include the required information, such as your contact information, your doctor’s and supervisor’s contact information, the last day you worked, the first day of your injury or illness, the dates of your past and upcoming doctor visits, and the amount of money you receive from other related sources, such as workers’ comp.
6. Wait out the elimination period, typically 1-4 weeks, before you receive benefits. You can use your sick leave or other applicable PTO during this time.
7. Wait for a response, which typically takes a few days. If the claim is denied, you can file an appeal.

How to Sign Up for Short-Term Disability at Work

You’ll typically choose your benefits when you start a new job (although there may be a waiting period) and once a year during open enrollment. How does short-term disability work when you sign up for a plan through an employer? Here’s what your employer may offer:

• employer-paid short-term disability insurance
• a subsidized plan where you and the employer share the costs of the premiums
• a group plan where you pay the premium but get a cheaper rate than if you’re buying the same plan privately
• a free plan with the option to add additional coverage at an extra cost (this is often called a buy-up option)

If you don’t have employer-paid short-term disability, or if you don’t like the terms of the plan, you can also buy short-term disability insurance privately. A few states also offer state disability insurance.

How Much Does Short-Term Disability Pay?

Before you sign up for a plan, make sure you know how much your short-term disability will pay, especially if you can choose between different plans. Short-term disability compensation is typically in the ballpark of 60% to 70% of your weekly earnings, but it can range from about 40% to 80%, depending on the plan.

How Long Is Short-Term Disability?

It’s common for short-term disability benefits to last up to three to six months. If you’re choosing between different plans, take a look at the coverage periods. Ideally, long-term disability insurance should kick in just as your short-term disability ends so that there’s no gap in coverage, but this may not be the case if the two plans are with different insurance companies.

Keep in mind that three to six months is usually the maximum amount of time for short-term disability leave. The insurance will only pay as long as your doctor determines you’re unable to work due to your disability. Doctors often make an estimate of this when you first see them regarding your claim. When you go to see your doctor, be sure to ask, “How long is short-term disability typically for this condition?”

Can an Employer Contact You While You Are on Short-Term Disability?

Employers aren’t forbidden from contacting you while you’re on disability leave, as long as they don’t ask you to perform work or pressure you to return. They can only call you to ask a simple question you can answer without coming into office, such as where to locate a file or contact information for a client.

Learn More About Having a Disability at Work

If you have a disability that you expect will improve so that you can return to work, but not fully go away, it’s important to learn more about your rights when you return to work, including The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Is it time to look for a new job after your disability leave? Find advice in our article on how to look for a job when you have a disability.

Prepare for Your Return to Work With Monster

Now that you know what a short-term disability is, learn more about benefits and other workplace essentials on Monster. While the most important thing you can do when you’re on leave is to rest, when you feel ready, start preparing to return to work. Whether you want to look for a job with better benefits or get career advice sent to your inbox, create a free account on Monster to get started.