October 2018 veterans disability benefits report

October 2018 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics Report

The October 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is now available for review. See how unrated VA claims data changed over the past 30 days and what the report means for your own benefits application below.



October 2018 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Inventory Status

The October 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report tracks unrated VA claims waiting for decisions from the Veterans Benefits Administration. On October 6, the VA claims inventory category held 365,851 unrated applications, declining for the first time this year since June. Any disabled vet already receiving benefits can file supplemental claims for either new conditions or worsening symptoms. According to the October 2018 veterans disability benefits statistics report, about 10% of vets filing supplemental claims already receive the max monthly benefit of $2,800/month.

  • As of October 6, 2018: 365,851
  • As of September 1, 2018: 370,495
  • Difference: -4,644
  • Daily churn: -232.2 claims

Finally, VA disability applications are getting processed faster and the unrated claims inventory’s going down! This category holds both compensation and pension benefits applications, but 63% of applicants already receive some VA benefits.

October 2018 Veterans Disability Benefits Statistics: Claims Backlog Status

All claims still pending the VA’s decision 125 days old automatically transfer into the backlog category. The October 2018 report shows the second month in a row that backlogged claims rose. Today, more than 65% of backlogged claims are from vets who served after 1991.

  • As of October 6, 2018: 84,352
  • As of September 1, 2018: 83,665
  • Difference: +687
  • Daily churn: +34.35 claims added to the backlog

Claims that take the longest to process are supplemental and list 6-8 different conditions. According to the VBA, these complicated claims with multiple conditions more than doubled in the past 10 years. The more complex benefits applications are more likely to get approved for the maximum benefit amount, but also take much longer for VA claims reviewers to process.

Want free, VA-accredited help with your claim? You’ll pay nothing unless a lawyer helps you win benefits. Professional claim help will maximize your VA benefit amount and potentially speed up your claim’s review. More than 4 in every 5 vets with lawyers representing their cases prevail against the VA in court. And since these lawyers work on contingency, if you do win, you’ll only pay a small, one-time fee.

Ready to see if you may qualify? Click the button below to start your free benefits evaluation now!

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Lori Polemenakos is Director of Consumer Content and SEO strategist for LeadingResponse, a legal marketing company. An award-winning journalist, writer and editor based in Dallas, Texas, she's produced articles for major brands such as Match.com, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Xfinity, Mail.com, and edited several published books. Since 2016, she's published hundreds of articles about Social Security disability, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, personal injury, mass tort, auto accident claims, bankruptcy, employment law and other related legal issues.