When a disability insurance company is fighting a claim, it will often agree to pay benefits – but with a “reservation of rights.”  This is a particular problem for doctors, dentists, and other professionals whose claims are common targets for denial.  It is important to understand what this phrase means and how it can impact a legitimate disability claim.

When an insurer pays a claim under a reservation of rights, it is essentially providing a provisional payment.  Though the insurance company may be sending you a check, it is not admitting that it actually has any liability under the policy.  Instead, it is “reserving the right” to stop paying your claim if it can find evidence to deny it later.  Once the company denies your claim, they can also demand you to repay them whatever proceeds they have distributed to you.

This practice is good for the insurance company, as it buys it extra time to investigate – and often later deny – a claim without putting it at risk of violating the laws against undue delay in payment.  However, because the insurance company can still investigate the claim and then demand full repayment at any moment, the reservation of rights provides no peace of mind for the policyholder.  Fortunately, a disability insurance attorney can protect you from this uncertainty by properly presenting your claim and thoroughly monitoring the insurance company’s actions to reach a beneficial result.

The disability insurance attorneys at Comitz | Beethe provide legal representation to protect the disability benefits of medical and dental professionals nationwide and throughout metropolitan Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tucson, Flagstaff, Sedona, Lake Havasu City, Prescott, and Yuma. We provide disability income claim advice, assistance with filing disability claims, including completion of disability claim forms and representation in disability insurance litigation.