How Will Sale of Cigna Disability Division to New York Life Insurance Co. Affect Disability Claimants?
On December 18, 2019 Cigna entered into an agreement to sell their disability insurance and life insurance division for $6.3 billion. This is a monster deal in the disability insurance world as Cigna was one of the top five largest disability insurance companies in the world prior to the sale. With the purchase, NY Life Insurance company will instantly go from being a small disability insurance company to one of the biggest. We don’t expect this sale to have a big impact on Cigna disability policy holders, as we expect that NY Life will transition over the Cigna disability team. NY Life could not possibly absorb all of the Cigna disability claims without continuing with the majority of Cigna’s employees. In a recent press release about the sale, NY Life insurance company’s CEO stated,
“This transaction increases the value we can deliver to our policy owners, strengthens our well-defined business model, and adds millions of customers to the New York Life family,” said New York Life Chairman and CEO Ted Mathas. “Cigna’s group life and disability business enhances our portfolio of strategic businesses and is led by an experienced management team and high-quality workforce, who we look forward to welcoming to our company. We are fully committed to making this transition as seamless as possible for employees and clients alike.”
The sale is not expected to be completed until the Fall of 2020 so Cigna policy holders should not see any changes until then. Once the transition is complete we expect that there will be some changes in the way the Cigna claims are handled. Our law firm has handled hundreds of NY Life disability claims and thousands of Cigna claims. These companies handle claims in different manners and we think that NY life will want Cigna to start doing things the NY life way. NY Life is a company that has been around since 1845, but their disability insurance experience is minimal compared to Cigna. Regardless of how NY Life decides manage the long term disability claims, claimants should expect that their claims will be reviewed as part of the sale. Claimants should make sure their medical support is up to date and be very diligent in 2020 with frequent medical visits. Our disability insurance lawyers have noticed increased claim denials and delays develop shortly after the consolidation of two insurance companies.
If you have questions about a NY LIFE or Cigna disability insurance claim, our lawyers always offer a free initial phone consultation. We represent claimants nationwide and we look forward to discussing your claim.
Resources to Help You Win Disability Benefits
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