Hello,

I live in California and was laid off in January after twelve years of service (My employer was not based in California). I am currently receiving EDD unemployment benefits. However, I have now become ill and cannot work and need to go on disability.

I signed a disability policy with Unum/Provident through my employer a few years ago, and was able to "port" it over to a private policy when I got laid off this year. I currently pay a monthly fee to maintain this policy.

I need to know if this policy will cover me coming off of unemployment as opposed to cover me if I was still employed? I have reviewed the policy and the application but no where does it talk about unemployment - it only seems to discuss listing current employer information.

If the private insurance does not accept me am I able to get disability through EDD benefits/State of California? Finally, is it possible to still receive unemployment insurance while being on private or state disability?

I appreciate any assistance, clarity or points in the right direction.

It sounds like you converted your policy from part of a group policy to an individual policy so you should have coverage. You need to contact UNUM to apply for disability. There is probably a waiting period or an elimination period before benefits are payable, i.e., a period of time during which you must be considered disabled by their underwriting standards before benefits commence. This would be explained in your policy.

I am not sure how unemployment and state disability work together. Contact the state unemployment offices to determine this.