Disability Insurance Benefit Tips

This question is addressed in a recent case decided by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. More specifically, the case addresses what a claimant may NOT do when the insurer fails to render a decision on the claimant's appeal within the time frame set out by ERISA—a claimant may not rely on the insurer's said failure as a reason to not exhaust all administrative remedies required by the Long Term Disability Pl...

Claimants often ask if their award of SSDI benefits means that their LTD claim will be approved by their insurance company. As we have discussed in other articles and videos, an SSDI award does not guarantee that your LTD claim will be approved by your insurance company. However, in reviewing your claim, the insurance company should consider the SSA decision and the information relied on by the SSA. In fact, t...

The short answer to this question is, yes. However, whether the claim will be approved depends on a number of factors. The crux of the claim would hinge on whether you were disabled under the terms of your policy before you were fired.Under most group disability policies the date of termination from employment would mark the end of the employee's eligibility for coverage under his or her disability policy ...

Many individual and group disability insurance policies contain Waiver of Premium provisions that allow for the waiver of the annual premiums while you are disabled. However, if your claim is pending and under review, you should continue to make all premium payments which become due until the long-term disability insurance carrier informs you that your claim has been approved and you no longer need to continue...

Answer: Like most answers to questions regarding long-term disability insurance the answer is predicated on the terms and conditions of the long-term disability insurance policy in question.Foreign residency limitations will serve to either deny coverage and preclude payment of long-term disability benefits if the insured resides outside of the U.S. for a specified period of time, often six (6) months or m...

In this video about ERISA disability appeals, disability insurance lawyers Gregory Dell and Rachel Alters discuss some of the most important steps that should be taken in order for a claimant to have the best opportunity to win disability benefits. The video has been produced for educational purposes and you should contact us to discuss the specifics of your dis...

There are many insurance companies that sell short and long term disability insurance policies, but they do not administer the policy if a disability claim needs to be made. Most large companies such as AT&T and Walgreens will self fund their disability insurance benefits and use a third party administrator to make a decision on a claimant's eligibility for ...

Dell Disability Lawyers have handled thousands of long term disability insurance claims. Naturally we have seen a wide array of reasons by insurers for denying claims. Below are 10 of the most common reasons such claims are denied:1. Surveillance: Insurance companies often hire private investigators to take surveillance videos of claimants to document evidence of the claimant's ability or inability to work...

An issue that comes up often during litigation of a claim for disability benefits is: After exhausting all of your administrative remedies for a clam for STD benefits, may a lawsuit be brought for LTD benefits as well? Insurance companies frequently move to dismiss claims for LTD benefits, claiming that the Plaintiff failed to successfully appeal the denial of the STD claim, therefore the LTD claim was never a...

Unfortunately, it is extremely common to be stricken with financial difficulties after an insurance company denies or terminates your long term disability benefits. Often times when a person is stricken by illness or has an accident and is rendered disabled and unable to work, their financial situation becomes dire as they are not earning any income, have not yet been approved for social security disability be...

Attending Physician Statement (APS) is a form that every disability insurance company requires a disability claimant to complete on a routine basis during the pendency of a short or long term disability insurance claim. Doctors often rush through these forms which can be detrimental to a claimant. The doctor statement is drafted by the insurance company and unfo...

The answer to this question depends on how your disability claim is being managed and the extent of the medical authorization you have provided to your disability carrier.Watch our video to learn more about this common occurrence....

Every disability insurance company requires claimant statements to be completed on either a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis. Our disability lawyers have helped thousands of claimants to complete the claimant statements and in this video we discuss some of the most common issues we see on a daily basis. A disability company can request the complet...

It is common practice by insurance companies to "cherry pick" medical records during the LTD review process, taking the claimant's physician's notes out of context in an attempt to validate the denial or termination of benefits. Often times, insurance companies will find one or two notes from a claimant's physician that state he or she has improved or is feeling better and base the denial on those notes alone ...

Generally, yes, most long-term disability insurance carriers allow you to submit one application if they administer both your Group and Individual Long-term Disability policies. Of course, as a rule of thumb, you never want to assume anything when it comes to the disability insurance company or your claim, and you should ask the claim representative if submission of one application is acceptable. Once your lon...

Does a disability insurance claimant have to repay an insurance company back for the money received from Social Security? Unfortunately, this answer is overwhelmingly answered by a simple affirmative "yes." The vast majority of ERISA governed group long term disability policies contain provisions allowing the insurance company to offset your monthly disability benefit by the amount you and/or your dependents r...

A common tactic employed by insurance companies when reviewing a claim for disability benefits is the use of video surveillance (learn more about this here). The surveillance is conducted in hopes of "catching" an insured doing activities that they either claimed they couldn't do or that differ from the level of physical ability they report to their doctors and/or on claim forms. Naturally, anyone would take o...

Don't let your disability company limit your disability claim to 24 months due to a cognitive disorder. You may have options to extend your disability benefits. The disability companies are notorious for ignoring physical conditions and trying to make every claim a mental health disability only. Disability Attorney Gregory Dell shares information regarding claim...

I always tell my clients that they should assume at all times that they are under video surveillance by their disability insurance company. On a daily basis I receive calls from disability claimants that think they are being followed by an investigator. I always tell these claimants that they should immediately call the police and report the situation. According to most state laws, a licensed private investiga...

It seems that instances of cancer are running rampant these days. Almost daily it seems as if there is a new study documenting the rise of certain types of cancers, deaths associated to cancer, and new medical treatment to combat the flowing tide. It would seem that with such a seeming epidemic that securing disability insurance benefits due to a diagnosis of cancer, or due to the lingering effects of treatmen...