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The individual disability insurance (IDI) claims process allows you to seek financial support if you cannot work due to a long term disability or chronic illness. If you have an IDI policy, your coverage isn’t tied to your job or provided by your employer. When filing for disability benefits, you must follow all required steps …
If you have an injury or disability that will prevent you from working for an extended period, you should not hesitate to submit a claim for long-term disability benefits. Your policy may be from your employer or a private long-term disability insurance plan. While notifying your employer is the first step in that process, the …
Private insurance companies generally take six weeks to six months to approve or deny claims for long-term disability benefits. When you are unable to work, that delay can leave you without resources to pay your bills and daily living expenses. An experienced long-term disability lawyer understands the typical causes of delays in processing long-term disability …
A large number of disability claim applications that are filed with Aetna do not pass the investigation phase. Applicants who want to continue the claim process after an initial denial must file an appeal, usually within 180 days. The first step toward filing an appeal is understanding why Aetna denied the claim. Denials are often …
Social Security disability claim denials are common. In fact, the applicant whose claim is approved initially is the exception rather than the rule. To fight for your denied disability benefits, hire an attorney specializing in this field as soon as possible. The chances of winning your appeal increase significantly when you are represented by legal …
If the symptoms of your sickle cell disease have made it impossible for you to work, you may qualify for Social Security disability benefits. However, you’ll have to provide evidence of the severity of your condition in order to be approved for disability benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) provides disability benefits for individuals who …
If you need to file a disability claim for degenerative disc disease (DDD), you may have already applied and been denied. Degenerative disc is one of the most common causes of back and neck pain resulting in disability. Today we share important tips about how the Social Security Administration, disability insurance companies, and the Department …
Having your claim wrongfully denied by your insurer is one of the most frustrating things that anyone can go through. How can companies that are supposed to be there for you when things go wrong bend and sometimes even break laws – all just to avoid giving their customers the benefits that they deserve? If you or someone you love is in a situation like this, there’s a good chance that you not only want to get the benefits that you asked for in the first place, but also punish your insurer by making them pay punitive damages for putting you through so much trouble.
The disability laws and ERISA regulations keep insurance companies from engaging in a number of negative practices that can hurt you, but they still can’t stop them from attempting to harm your case with deception. One of the most common things that insurers try to do is cherry-pick which evidence they decide to use from medical and vocational experts.
What is cherry picking? Quite simply, it’s when someone looks at a number of findings, often confusing or conflicting, and chooses only those findings that support their argument. In the case of insurance companies fighting a disability claim, they will literally pull out and use only evidence and statements that make it sound like the claimant is not disabled.
One of the chief complaints that Veterans and their representatives have in completing an Appeal for disability benefits is the length of time it takes to receive the Veteran’s Claims File or (C-File). This file contains all of the information that has been processed towards your claim including medical records, rating decisions, code sheets and service personnel records among files. Having your Representative review the Claims File is a key component in the Appeals process in order to file a Substantive Appeal (VA-9).
But the long wait to receive the Claims File from the VA can be extremely frustrating for all parties involved. It can take up to a year to receive your Claims File and in some instances, even longer. When the file does arrive, it is sometimes a disorganized box of paperwork which makes it very slow going to review the file in its entirety. This adds even more wait time before your Substantives Appeal can be filed.
