Senate Committee Concerned Over
Disability Insurers’ Unfair Practices
The Senate Finance Committee recently met to discuss laws surrounding private disability insurance. Members of the Committee expressed concern over current federal law, which gives private disability insurers substantial flexibility to engage in questionable practices. The Committee Chairman, for example, commented about the conflict of interests that hired physicians face when an performing “independent” medical examination (IME) on claimants:
Many of these doctors are employed either by the insurance company or by companies that do a lot of business with the insurance company. These arrangements make it far too easy for the doctors to deny claims, terminate claims, or reject appeals.
Committee members were also concerned about discretionary clauses that private disability insurance companies include in their disability insurance plans. These clauses give the disability insurance company discretion to review disability benefits determinations. They also enable disability insurance companies to avoid certain challenges to disability benefits decisions.
Disability insurance companies have financial incentive to deny disability insurance claims. As the discussion from the Committee meeting demonstrates, current holes in the law may actually provide insurance companies with means to engage in unfair practices for their benefit. Before filing a disability benefits claim, consider consulting with an attorney first. It is important to know your rights and to have an experienced professional guide you through this process.
To read more about the Senate Finance Committee Meeting, click here.
