What to Do When Your
Disability Insurance Claim Is Denied
A large part of our practice consists of helping physicians and dentists whose disability insurance claims have been denied or terminated. When our clients come to us, we carefully analyze their medical records, the claim file, and the law to craft a specific strategy for getting the disability insurer to reverse its adverse determination. Unfortunately, we sometimes find that in between receiving notice that their claim has been denied or terminated and getting in touch with our firm, doctors will inadvertently take actions that prejudice their disability claims. With that in mind, it’s important to review what to do and what not to do in the first few days after your claim is denied or terminated.
- In all likelihood, you will first find out that your insurer is denying or ending your disability benefits via a telephone call from the claims consultant who analyzed your claim. As we’ve explained before, the consultant will be taking detailed notes about anything you say during that call. Therefore, even if you are justifiably upset or angry, be very mindful of what you say. Anything you tell the consultant will certainly be written down and saved in your file.
- During the call with your consultant, make your own notes. You don’t have to ask a lot of questions at this stage, but you do want to make sure to record whatever information the consultant gives you.
- Following the phone call, you should receive a letter from the insurance company stating that it has denied your disability claim or discontinued your disability benefit payments. According to most state and federal law, the letter should have a detailed explanation of the evidence the company reviewed and why the insurer thinks that evidence shows you aren’t entitled to disability benefits. When you receive the letter, read through it carefully. Make notes on a separate document about any inaccuracies you identify.
- Make sure you keep a copy of the denial or termination letter as well as the envelope it came in. You should also make a note of the date on which you received the letter. The date the letter was actually mailed and received could be important to your legal rights in the future. Then, the best thing to do is to scan the documents electronically or make a photocopy for your file, just in case the original denial letter gets lost or damaged.
- Once you find out that your disability claim has been denied or terminated, you should contact a disability insurance attorney. Some doctors and dentists attempt to handle an appeal of their claim on their own, but we strongly suggest at least consulting with a law firm. Every insurance company has its own team of highly-trained claims analysts, in-house doctors, and specialized insurance lawyers to help it support the denial of your claim. Having your own counsel can level the playing field by making sure you know your rights under your policy and what leverage the applicable law provides you, and help you avoid the common traps that insurance companies lay for claimants on appeal.
- The lawyer you consult can be in your area, or it can be a firm with a national practice that’s physically located in another state. You may want to review these questions to ask potential attorneys before you decide who you would like to represent you.
- Whatever attorney you choose to contact, make sure you do so as soon as possible. In many circumstances, you will only have a limited amount of time to appeal the insurance company’s decision. Particularly in claims governed by the federal law ERISA, the clock starts ticking as soon as you find out your disability claim has been denied or terminated.
- It’s usually best to contact a disability insurance attorney before you respond to the denial letter, to avoid saying anything that could prejudice your appeal. For instance, if you have a disability insurance policy that is governed by ERISA, and you submit some additional information, the insurance company may not allow you to submit any additional information after your initial response.
- Before you meet with potential disability insurance lawyers, gather whatever documents you can to help them evaluate what’s going on with your claim. Our firm will always want to review the insurance policy or policies. (Here’s information on how to get a copy of your policy). We typically also like to see your relevant medical records and any correspondence between you and your insurance company. If you aren’t able to locate this information, it could cause delays in starting the appeal process.
- If you are a physician or dentist that is totally disabled, you should not try to go back to work just because your insurance company thinks you don’t qualify for disability benefits. Trying to practice when you aren’t in a physical or mental condition to do so could cause you to re-injure yourself or accidentally harm your patients. Of course, trying to work on patients after you’ve claimed that you are totally disabled can expose you to professional liability as well. Further, trying to return to work could impair your ability to collect your disability benefits upon appeal.
