Is Applying For Hartford Disability Benefits Difficult?
Applying for short or long term disability benefits with the Hartford can be difficult. The definition of disability in your policy, the severity of your medical condition and the type of job you are unable to perform are all factors that must be considered when applying. With proper guidance from our disability insurance lawyers, more than 95% of our Hartford disability insurance claimants are approved for either short or long term disability. Our success rate is high because we have handled thousands of Hartford disability insurance claims and we know what it takes in order to give our clients the best chance to be approved. Please watch our video above in which we discuss important information you should know about the application for disability insurance benefits. Contact any of our Hartford application lawyers for our opinion about your ability to get your Hartford disability benefits approved and how we may be able to assist you.
When Should I Call A Lawyer To Help With My Hartford Disability Benefit Claim?
The best time to contact a disability insurance lawyer when applying for STD or LTD benefits is before you submit your initial application to Hartford. Don’t worry if you already submitted your application because we will still do whatever we can to achieve a claim approval. The initial application is the foundation of your claim and Hartford is looking for you to tell them every reason you cannot work in your occupation. Regardless of what you tell Hartford, they are looking at your claim from the perspective of how quickly can they get you back to work. The key to a successful Hartford disability benefit claim approval is to have very strong medical support for your restrictions and limitations.
Why is Medical Support Important for a Hartford Disability Claim?
Medical support is far more than your doctor filling out Hartford’s Attending Physician Statement with the statement that you cannot return to work. Hartford’s Attending Physician Statements are specifically designed to obtain limited information from your doctors so that Hartford can claim you lack sufficient medical support to approve the claim. Our disability attorneys draft custom Physician Statements for your claim and we work with you and your doctor(s) to submit strong medical evidence. Most doctors take minimal notes as they don’t expect their chart notes to be analyzed or reviewed by a disability insurance company. Disability insurance companies will commonly deny disability claims on the basis that a claimant’s medical records don’t have sufficient documentation of either a claimant’s complaints or functional limitations. We guide you through each visit with your doctor so that we can make sure your doctor is properly documenting your medical records.
Does My Job Type Make it Easy To Get Hartford Disability Benefits Approved?
The duties required to perform your job in conjunction with your medical condition will determine how difficult it will be to get your claim approved. In our video below we discuss the importance of making sure the disability insurance understands your occupational job duties.
When you apply for disability benefits Hartford will commonly require your employer to complete an occupational verification form that asks basic questions like your date of hire, number of hours worked prior to disability, job title and sometimes a request for a job description. Hartford asks your employer for minimal occupational information because they want to establish your job requirements based upon a generic job title and not based upon the specific manner in which you performed your job. Twenty people can have the same job title at twenty different companies, yet the responsibilities of each job are different. Additionally, an employer’s job description is rarely accurate in describing an employee’s job duties. When we submit a disability application for our clients we provide detailed occupational information that describes the physical and cognitive requirements of your job. Hartford tries to describe your job duties based upon a generic occupational class such as sedentary, light, medium or heavy duty. This technique is unfair to claimants as no one’s job should be defined based upon the ability to either sit for 6 hours a day with breaks, or frequently lift more than five pounds. There is a cognitive component to every job and the reality of being able to consistently show up for work and function with 100% focus for 8 hours a day / 5 days a week. Through the strategic drafting of your job duties we are able to force Hartford to evaluate how your medical restrictions and limitations prevent you from performing the duties of your occupation.
There are many more factors to consider when applying for Hartford disability benefits, but the factors will vary based upon the type of disabling condition and job you are unable to perform. We have handled just about every type of disabling medical condition and people working in all types of occupations. Contact us for a free review of your disability policy and a preliminary opinion about your ability to collect either short or long term disability benefits from Hartford. We appreciate you considering our law firm to guide you through this difficult time.
Will Hartford Require me to Apply for Social Security Disability Benefits?
Hartford requires all of their disability claimants to apply for social security disability benefits (SSDI) because the award of SSDI benefit will be a deduction from the monthly amount that Hartford is required to pay each month. In the majority of Hartford disability policy, after 24 months of receiving payments the definition of disability changes from Own occupation to Any Occupation. The Hartford’s Any Occupation definition of disability is usually very close to the social security disability of definition. There are situations where a person may be able to work in another occupation and still be disabled. In this situation, the claimant would not be required to apply for SSDI.
Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits
Submit a Strong Hartford Appeal Package
We work with you, your doctors, and other experts to submit a very strong Hartford appeal.
Sue Hartford
We have filed thousands of disability denial lawsuits in federal Courts nationwide against Hartford.
Get Your Hartford Disability Application Approved
Prevent a Hartford Disability Benefit Denial
Negotiate a Hartford Lump-Sum Settlement
Our goal is to negotiate the highest possible buyout of your long-term disability policy.