Private Disability Insurance
Americans all over the country purchase private disability insurance that pays out in the event that they cannot work. When it comes time to file a claim against their policy, their claim is denied. The insurance company quotes some provision of the contract that is abstrusely worded and hard to make sense of. Nonetheless, you’re in a position where you need that policy to pay out in order pay your bills. What do you do? The fact is insurance companies are in the habit of denying claims. That does not, however, mean that the claim is deniable. It means that you have yet to leverage the insurance company into a legal corner. This often means getting more evidence, disputing the findings, and forcing the insurance company to honor its claim. CJ Henry Law Firm has helped hundreds of Florida clients wrestle their money away from stingy insurance companies. If you’re having a difficult time getting your private disability insurance claim paid, contact us today. We may be able to help you get the evidence you need to prove your claim.
How Do Private Disability Insurance Claims Work?
Insurance companies that offer LTD or long-term disability insurance generally offer it through group plans paid for by your employer. Sometimes, individuals purchase these policies themselves. These folks are simply preparing for a medical disaster should it come to pass. They are banking on the fact that their LTD insurance will pay out should they be unable to work. This is how they’ll pay their bills and feed themselves. On the other hand, insurance companies tend to commonly and unapologetically deny these claims. This is especially true for those who are making a claim on their policy for the first time. They do this regardless of whether or not the claim is valid.
Why Do Insurance Company Deny Most Initial Claims?
There are a couple of reasons. Firstly, insurance companies often have policyholders that simply give up. If even 5% of all policyholders give up after a rejection, that is potentially millions of dollars that they have saved in disbursements. In other words, it’s worth a shot. Secondly, there are valid reasons for denying private disability insurance claims. Among those is that the worker simply doesn’t want to work any longer, not that they can’t work. Those make up a certain percentage of all the claims that are made. Then there are valid claims made in good faith against policies. For instance, a worker:
- Has contracted a debilitating illness or condition
- Suffered a severe injury in a traffic accident
- Is injured in such a way that they are no longer able to perform the duties of their job
When claims like these are denied, it’s often for the purpose of seeing what exactly the policyholder can prove. Can the policyholder get medical records that support their claim? Can the insurance come up with a reason to still deny it after they do? Insurance companies will force policyholders into the position of defending every medical condition they are claiming is preventing them from working.
What Do You Need To Prove In A Legitimate Claim?
As we said earlier, just because your claim was denied does not mean your claim is deniable. By law, insurance companies must act in the best interests of their policyholders. This means honoring legitimate claims made against a private disability insurance policy. Legitimate claims have a two-factor test:
- You must be able to prove that you have the ailment or injury that you say you have
- You must be able to show that this ailment or injury prevents you from working
However, there are two types of policies. Some pay out in the event that you can no longer do the current job that you have. Others only pay out in the event that you cannot do any job. Others pay out for a set amount based on the fact that you can no longer do your current job then only remain in effect if you cannot do any job. Depending on the language of your policy, you may have cause to fight the denial. It’s important to realize that much depends on the language of your policy.
We Can Help You Fight A Denial
If you need your disability policy to pay out and the insurance company continues to deny your claim, a private disability insurance lawyer at CJ Henry Law Firm can take a look at your policy and determine whether or not you should press forward and fight against the insurance company’s denial. We’ve seen many claims that were denied for invalid reasons just to test the waters with the policyholder. If there is any way that we can help you receive what you are owed, we will do our best to figure out how. Call us today.
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