The Disability Claim Process
During the disability insurance claim process, we provide legal advice and counseling on how to handle the insurance carrier’s nearly constant deluge of questions and requests for information. We require all requests for information to be handled through our office to ensure that clients’ rights are never unfairly or inadvertently compromised.
Many insurers will attempt to require a disability insurance claimant to undergo an Independent Medical Examination, or IME. These IMEs are rarely “independent,” as the examiner is normally someone chosen and paid for by the insurance carrier, and the exams are often used as a tool for denying disability benefits whenever possible. When an insurer schedules an IME for our client, we examine the client’s policy to determine whether an IME can be required. We then work to limit the test to certain parameters, study the individual examiner’s curriculum vitae, videotape or audiotape the exam, accompany our client to the exam, and review the resulting report for accuracy.
We also advise clients on how to handle the myriad of other obstacles that insureds must often overcome to receive benefits, including in-home interviews with claim agents; medical record reviews; psychiatric evaluations; Functional Capacity Exams; audits of individual and practice tax returns, insurance filings and billing records; demands for precise time quantification; and video and internet surveillance. Our attorneys monitor the insurance company’s every step to protect against unreasonable delays, undue harassment, or misconstruing of information in processing clients’ claims for benefits.
Disability insurance carriers often make the claim process as daunting as possible. None of the problems is insurmountable; however, they are certainly difficult to tackle alone. When faced with a possible disability insurance claim, insureds should consult an attorney experienced in this area of the law so that they can maintain control of their financial future. Edward O. Comitz and the attorneys of Comitz | Beethe have earned a national reputation for prosecuting claims on behalf of individuals based on fraud and unfair business practices in the disability insurance and healthcare industries. For more information on our qualifications, see our Attorney Profiles.
Contact our office online or call 480.998.7800 to speak with attorney Edward O. Comitz about your disability insurance claim.