Disability Insurance: Who Gets Denied?
Answer: Individuals with neck and back pain.
Musculoskeletal disorders make up 23 percent of new disability claims each year, says the Council for Disability Awareness, an insurance industry trade group. You can expect extra scrutiny if you file a claim for disability benefits, says Arizona disability insurance attorney Ed Comitz. The challenge with musculoskeletal claims is that there may be little objective evidence to verify the pain. Most insurers conduct surveillance on individuals with neck and back problems, attempting to portray them in the worst light notwithstanding the varying nature and severity of pain.
Claim Analytics, a provider of predictive modeling solutions to the insurance industry, published the results of its “2010 Long Term Disability Benchmarking Report.” The results show significantly varying results (a 22% difference) when it comes to dealing with claims,especially those based on back injuries. According to Claim Analytics, this reflects on the claim management practices employed by each carrier, and specifically how different carriers treat back pain.
