Question
Will Hartford accept my payment arrangment? Will this cancel my LTD benefits?
I have several spine ailments including Degenerative Disk Disease, Spinal Stenosis and Scoliosis. After years of suffering severe back pain, I was forced to stop working and applied for LTD through my employer provided benefits. I have been receiving LTD from the Hartford since November 2013. I also filed for Social Security Disability and I was recently awarded SSDI benefits with retroactive payments totaling roughly $20,000.00. My LTD policy states that I have to pay the Hartford for this “overpayment.” I don’t deny that I owe them this money but I really need this money to pay past due bills and medical expenses as a result of my illness. I would like to make payment arrangements with the Hartford instead of sending them the whole amount immediately. I would prefer they with hold my $1,700.00 per month LTD payment for 12 months to repay the overpayment. In your opinion, would the Hartford accept a payment arrangement such as this? Would 12 months be considered too long? Would this jeopardize my future LTD payments from the Hartford? For instance would they be more inclined to cancel my LTD benefits because of this? Any insight would be much appreciated.
Answer
Cindy, Hartford will typically negotiate repayment plans on overpayments, which can include withholding your monthly benefit to recoup same. With respect to the arrangement affecting your claim – chances are the repayment process will not. With that being said, Hartford policies often contain a two year own occupation definition of disability, as you have been on disability for 13 months this would most likely leave you with 11 months of benefits under this standard before the any occupation definition is applied. Despite being approved for SSDI, your claim will face increased scrutiny and likelihood of denial at that time.
