I am David Martin with the Martin Law group. We help people with disability policies and ERISA claims. I post a new disability policy term every Thursday. Subscribe to get the Edge in understanding your policy. Today we are going to be discussing “What is a mental illness limitation?” A mental illness limitation only pays, or limits benefit payments based on a mental illness to a shorter time frame such as 1 or 2 years. A mental illness is usually defined as a mental, nervous, emotional disease or disorder.  Depression, bi-polar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder are examples of this. Some policies may define it in reference to a DSM term which is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The danger that exists here is that a significant number of people suffer from depression after they began to experience a disabling sickness or injury and especially so if chronic pain is involved.  If the sickness or injury were removed, they would not suffer from depression. Nonetheless the insurance company may well latch on to a depression diagnosis to refuse to pay a claim past the 1 or 2 year mark, even though the real problem is the underlying sickness or injury.  Attention to this possibility during the claim process is very important. Remember we are here to help if you run into problems. Call us at the first hint of trouble.