Bad Faith Disability Insurance Claim Denials
Long term disability insurance policies are purchased to provide an income if you become disabled and unable to work. Policies typically replace forty to sixty percent of your income in the event that you are unable to work for an extended period. Disability claims are often denied in “bad faith”; disability insurers use obscure clauses and other tactics to deny or terminate legitimate claims. Many disabling conditions are routinely denied so that the companies can achieve maximum profitability. As a result, policyholders are left without an income and with no disability income in their time of need. If your disability insurance provider has denied your claim or discontinued payment of benefits, our attorneys can help. We work with policyholders and fight for the benefits to which they are entitled. Contact us today at 1-866-50-RIGHTS (1-866-507-4448) for a FREE, no-obligation disability insurance consultation.
Disability Insurance Companies
There are many disability insurers who write policies for individuals and groups, some of which are listed below:
- Unum Provident (now “UNUM”)
- Provident Life
- Unum Life Insurance Company
- Paul Revere Life Insurance Company
- Metlife – Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
- Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
- Colonial Life Insurance Company
- Aetna Insurance
- AXA Insurance
- Berkshire Insurance
- CNA Insurance
- Cigna Insurance
- Equitable Insurance
- Guardian Insurance
- Hartford Insurance
- Prudential Insurance
- New York Life Insurance
- John Hancock Insurance Company
- The Standard
- Illinois Mutual
ERISA Claims & Appeals
Disability policies are often issued as part of employer benefit plans. These policies fall under ERISA, or The Employee Retirement Income Security Act. ERISA governs employer-issued group long term disability plans. Disputes are filed in special federal courts and follow specific procedures. ERISA appeals often require experienced legal representation.
Social Security Disability
The Social Security Disability (SSD / SSDI) benefits program was created under the Social Security Disability Act and provides income for disabled people. Eligibility is based on whether the disabled person has worked recently (paid into the system through payroll taxes and earned a certain number of work credits), is of a certain age, and has a mental or physical disability that will prevent him/her from working for 12 or more consecutive months or is expected to lead to death. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) was created for younger workers or workers who may not have obtained enough work credits to participate in SSD. Social Security benefits can be difficult to obtain and require extensive proof of disability, and as a result, claimants often require an experienced lawyer to assist them in obtaining benefits through these programs.