How Long Does It Take to Get Benefits? – Part 2
In an ideal world, you’d receive a favorable decision and your first benefit check shortly after your disability insurance policy’s elimination period is satisfied. Unfortunately, even wholly legitimate disability claims get scrutinized, questioned, delayed, and in some cases, denied. Below are a few common reasons disability benefit payments are delayed, particularly at the outset of a disability claim.
Improperly Completed/Partially Completed Forms
If your initial claim forms are missing information, unreadable, or incomplete, your disability insurer will likely issue additional forms for completion or use the missing information as an excuse to delay processing the disability claim. This applies to both the forms that you are required to complete and sign and the forms the insurer gives you to give to your doctor to fill out, so it is important to follow up with your doctor and make sure that all of the necessary forms are completed and returned in a timely fashion. If you do not carefully document your disability claim, and you do not promptly respond to requests for follow-up information, most insurers will delay making a claim decision until you provide them with the requested information.
Pending Requests for Information
At the outset of your disability insurance claim, your insurer will require you to sign an authorization that allows them to request a wide range of information from a wide range of sources, including your doctors and employer. Oftentimes, the insurer will request information from these other sources (without telling you) and then will delay making a decision on your disability claim if any of these requests remain pending.
This means that even if you provide the insurance company with everything they requested from you, there may be other information that the company is waiting that is holding up the claims decision. Consequently, it’s important to ask the insurance company to find out if there are any pending requests, adn then follow up with your doctors, employers, etc. as needed to ensure that the information is provided.
It’s also important to keep tabs on the pending requests, to determine whether the scope of the disability insurer’s investigation is appropriate. An experienced disability attorney can advise you on whether a particular request for information is warranted under the circumstances of your particular claim.
Failure to Schedule Medical Examinations/Interviews
When you file a disability claim, insurers will almost always require that you participate in a detailed interview and/or undergo an independent medical examination (IME). While the stated point of these requests is to confirm or verify your disability, they can often be an attempt by your insurer to discredit your own doctor or medical records and generate fodder to deny your disability claim. Depending on the nature of your condition, your disability insurer might also request other types of interviews or exams—such as a functional capacity evaluation (FCE) or neuropsychological evaluation.
Some claimants (mistakenly) believe that if they keep putting off these exams, then they’ll be able to avoid the exams. However, most disability policies contain a provision that expressly requires the policyholder to submit to exams, and states that failure to do so is grounds for denying a claim or terminating disability benefits. So if you put off these exams, it’s only going to delay the company’s claim decision, and possibly result in a claim denial. However, keep in mind that going into a medical examination, IME, or interview unprepared can be just as bad for your claim, so it’s very important to prepare beforehand. Once again, an experienced disability attorney can advise you regarding the proper scope of an interview or IME, and can also be present for the interview or IME, if desired.
