Disability Insurer Profiles: Hartford
Hartford is the next disability insurer we will look at that specifically markets its disability policies to physicians and dentists.
See our profiles of MassMutual, MetLife, Northwestern Mutual, and Guardian.
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (“Hartford”) was founded over 200 years ago and now has more than 100 offices located throughout the U.S. In 2013, Hartford’s revenues were approximately $26.2 billion. However, in 2014, Hartford’s revenues dropped to $18.6 billion. Given this significant decrease in revenue, Hartford will likely go to great lengths to avoid paying high paying claims submitted by physicians and dentists, and may even attempt to revoke disability benefits that it approved before the company experienced this dramatic drop in profits.
Company: The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
Location: Hartford, Connecticut.
Associated Entities: Hartford Fire Insurance Company; Hartford Life, Inc.; Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company; Hartford Casualty Insurance Company; Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company; Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company; Hartford Life Insurance Company; Property and Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford.
Assets: $245 billion in 2014.
Notable Policy Features: Hartford offers disability insurance policies that define total disability as being unable to perform one of your prior substantial and material duties. If your disability policy contains such a definition, it will be much easier for you to demonstrate that you are totally disabled. In contrast, if your disability policy does not define total disability in this manner, you may have to prove that you cannot perform any of your prior substantial and material duties in order to receive total disability benefits.
Claims Management Approach: Hartford only offers group disability policies (as opposed to individual disability policies). This means that if you have a Hartford policy, it will probably be governed by ERISA. For many reasons, it will likely be harder for you to obtain your disability benefits if your policy is governed by ERISA.
For example, normally, if you become disabled and you have an individual disability policy, you can collect your disability benefits without filing for Social Security. However, if you have a Hartford group policy, your policy may require you to apply for Social Security benefits before you can receive your disability benefits. Hartford requires its policyholders to apply for Social Security because, under ERISA, any Social Security benefits the policyholder receives automatically offset the amount of disability benefits Hartford must pay the policyholder.
Read more about how ERISA claims are treated differently than non-ERISA claims.
These profiles are based on our opinions and experience. Additional source(s): Hartford’s 2014 Annual Report; “The Hartford Fact Sheet (2013),” and “The Hartford Fact Sheet (2014),” available at www.thehartford.com.
