You could have access to millions of dollars in benefits to protect you from the vagaries of an unknown future. Or you might find yourself holding an empty bag. The time to find out is right now. Nobody wants to think about using long-term disability insurance. The thought of being saddled with a mental or physical disability that interferes with your ability to practice your profession is not one most of us spend time dwelling on. And that’s a fine approach—most of the time. But every once in a while, it is important to give the issue some thought. When […]

Society has moved on. COVID is old news for many people. But for many professionals, the effects of COVID-19 continue to cause serious problems that interfere with the ability to work. Insurance companies are skeptical, and this is leading them to deny claims and discontinue benefits for doctors, nurses, dentists, psychologists, and other professionals suffering the effects of what has come to be known as “long COVID” or “post-COVID-19 syndrome.” While all is quiet on the media front, new variants of COVID-19 are still emerging and still triggering life-changing illness. When the effects of any version of COVID-19 cause disabilities […]

It can take considerable effort to satisfy the insurance company’s requirements to receive benefits for a long-term disability claim. Once claimants receive notice that they have been approved, they often breathe a sigh of relief and assume the work is over. It isn’t. As a legal team that has focused on disability insurance claims for decades, we understand that insurance companies often seek reasons to terminate disability benefits. No matter how severe your condition and how obvious your disabilities may be, it is vitally important to follow the requirements established in your policy, or you could find your benefits discontinued at the time […]

It is critical for professionals to have disability insurance coverage not only to provide protection in case of physical injury or illness but also as a safeguard in case a psychiatric or psychological disability interferes with the ability to practice their profession responsibly. While mental health impairments can be as debilitating as physical problems, professionals often hesitate to file disability insurance claims for these conditions for a variety of reasons. When they do seek the benefits they are entitled to under their coverage, these professionals are often met with denials or endless requests for additional information that make it impossible […]

When many people hear the word “disability,” they tend to think of someone with a particular condition that fits their preconceived notion of what it means to be disabled. They may picture a wheelchair or imagine a disability that has obvious physical signs, such as an amputated limb. But there are a wide array of physiological conditions that can impair your ability to function to such an extent that you qualify for disability benefits under the terms of a disability insurance policy. (This is not even counting psychological and psychiatric conditions, which we will address next month.) In this post, […]

When you’ve been paying premiums on a disability insurance policy and the day comes when you finally need to use that policy, it seems only fair that the process of filing a claim should be fairly simple. After all, you have a contractual arrangement with the insurance company that calls for them to provide benefits when you’re unable to work due to a disability. However, professionals often find that when they file a claim, the insurance company finds reasons to deny benefits or delay the evaluation process. Often, they will insist on the need for an IME, which stands for […]

When you’re unable to work due to a physical or mental disability, it can be extremely challenging to manage the process of filing a comprehensive claim for your disability insurance benefits. Insurance companies look for any excuse to deny claims, and they demand a level of documentation that can be nearly impossible to discern unless you’re extremely familiar with the claims process for disability insurance. This is why so many people choose to work with a disability insurance lawyer when filing a claim for benefits under their disability insurance policies or when they need to appeal a claim denial or […]

While filing a successful claim for long-term disability insurance benefits is almost always a challenge, it is particularly difficult when the disability affects mental or emotional health rather than physical health. Documentation, which is so crucial in disability claims, can be more difficult to obtain and more frequently subjected to challenge by insurance companies. Proving your limitations in a disability claim involving mental health impairments requires a concerted effort and an understanding of the evidence and arguments that insurance claims evaluators find the most persuasive. In our decades of experience helping professionals obtain disability benefits for mental health disabilities, we’ve […]

When you’ve paid an insurance company for a long-term disability policy and a time arrives when you need to use the policy you’ve paid for, it is extremely frustrating when the insurer denies your claim. Unfortunately, it’s not at all uncommon. Insurance companies make money by paying out as little as possible, so they rarely miss a chance to say “no.” And they’ve become quite adept at presenting legal arguments to suggest that you have no hope of succeeding if you file an appeal. But the fact is that it often takes legal action to get the benefits you are […]

While all insurance policies are complex, those that are designed to provide assistance when you are unable to work due to a disability seem to be among the most complicated. One reason these policies are often so hard to employ is that they are governed by different laws depending on the specific type of disability insurance policy you are trying to enforce. The federal ERISA laws establish obligations that apply to certain types of disability insurance but not all policies. If you are reviewing your disability insurance coverage, need to file a claim, or want to appeal a denial or […]