Hi. I have to decide whether to accept or reject a lump sum offer from long-term disability insurance. I ran some numbers and after taxes, I think the lump sum offered is equivalent to almost 9 years of monthly benefits. In this math, I reduced the monthly benefit by 35% because I think that if I turn down the lump sum, I will have to get a lawyer to help me through whatever else the insurance company will try to do to reduce or deny benefits going forward. I had to appeal a denial a few years ago and back then, disability lawyers were taking about 33-40% of benefits. (I had decided to pay a flat fee for help with the appeal only.) I became disabled at age 30 so I have quite a long ways to go and don’t know if I have the mental, emotional, and financial resources to get through another denial. I still have PTSD from that period, which was also during COVID. Even though I don’t see how I could suddenly start making money, I feel like at least the lump sum is a sure thing. If I reject it, what kinds of things will the insurance company do for the rest of my benefit period in order to balance their books? I am especially worried about extra uncertainty with SSDI. If my SSDI payments get cut, my long-term disability insurance payments are supposed to go back to the pre-SSDI amount, which is more than double what they’ve been paying since offsetting for SSDI. If this happens to a lot of people at once, what kinds of things will the insurance company do? Right now, rejecting the lump sum feels like I would be subjecting myself to a scary black box of strategies to reduce or deny my benefits. I appreciate any information that could help me make a more informed decision. Thank you!!