Most individual disability insurance plans are fully underwritten, meaning the insurer reviews your health during the application process. That can include preexisting conditions, prescription history, major medical claims data, motor vehicle driving history, and any medical records or test results. The company will then approve or decline based on your overall risk assessment.

GSI disability insurance is an individual plan that requires no medical underwriting. It has similar features to other individual policies including true own occupation definition of total disability, portability, ability to increase benefits in the future with no additional medical underwriting, and guaranteed renewable and non-cancelable features. The differences with a GSI disability insurance policy are that there is no medical underwriting and coverage can only increase up to a $15,000 maximum monthly benefit.

Group disability insurance coverage, which is provided through employer benefits, often insures you from your hire date. However, this coverage has many limitations, such as an inferior definition of total disability, offset payouts if you receive other disability benefits, and no portability options — you lose the benefit once you change employers. It's often advisable not to rely solely on group LTD benefits because of these shortcomings.