My experience with Guardian/Berkshire was appalling and ridiculous

I just want to say that when I filed my claim initially back in 2008, the process with Guardian/Berkshire was dreadful. They were skeptical of my claim at every turn, and it took a total of 9 months to get my claim approved. Guardian/Berkshire repeatedly asked me to send them the same records over and over again. They were paying me under reservation of rights, but I absolutely loathed dealing with them. They were combative and at times insidious, and they became very upset with me when I instructed that they communicate only in writing. My doctors were frustrated because their representatives would insist on speaking with them and would call several times a day requesting information. I finally just pulled the plug on all of it and instructed my docs not to speak with them. The person handling my claim nearly accused me of malingering, and tried to get me to admit that I was filing a claim because I had no income due the economy collapsing, it was ridiculous. I laughed at these baseless accusations and told them I would never have left my 250K a year career for 60K in disability benefits. They continued with the harassment, and informed me that they were sending me for an IME. I told them they were wasting their time and money, but they didn’t care. I completed the IME and their own doctor confirmed everything we had told them and agreed with us, but they still did not want to pay. They continued to drag their feet, accused me of falsifying my income on the initial application, and it was clear that they were engaging in “post claims underwriting” or adding stipulations to a contract after the fact. It was appalling. I also informed them that I was receiving 100% VA disability and SSDI, but they didn’t care. Finally, I sent a registered letter to the president of their New York office, informing them that if they didn’t approve my claim, I was filing a lawsuit. Finally, they gave up the fight and approved it. I continued to get hassled from them in the first year, but it gradually got better. Now, I only have to send in a report twice a year and my doc only has to do it on a yearly basis. I learned that they moved my claims to long-term claims management and they never bother me at all now. Stephen is correct – they will not do a buyout if you have a considerable amount of time left to collect your benefits. I inquired about it once because I was tired of the hassles and Guardian informed me that they would not consider it unless a claimant was in the last couple of years in the life of the policy.