Disability Insurer Profiles #9: Standard

Standard Insurance Company (also branded as “The Standard”) is one of the largest disability insurance companies in operation, with over $4.3 billion collected annually from premiums.[1]

If you have a Standard policy, you will want to pay close attention to how disability is defined under the policy, as Standard policies can contain provisions that shift from “own occupation” coverage to “any occupation” coverage after a certain period of time.[2] Because of this, Standard will sometimes approve a claim initially, but then reassess and terminate the claim when the more stringent “any occupation” provisions kicks-in later on.

For example, in Pringle v. Standard Insurance Company, Standard initially found the claimant to be disabled due to bilateral shoulder pain, bilateral knee pain, and numbness in his legs, feet and toes. Later on, after the “any occupation” definition replaced the “own occupation” definition of disability, Standard terminated the claim (and subsequently denied the claimant’s appeal of the claim termination) even though the claimant’s treating physicians had all opined that he could not work.

In support of its termination decision in Pringle, Standard relied on memos produced by its physician consultants after file reviews of the medical records. Notably, while other companies often only have one doctor conduct a file review of the record when evaluating whether to deny a claim, Standard in this case paid three doctors of various specialties to review the record and author peer review reports. Accordingly, if you have a Standard policy, it is important that you have supportive doctors and accurate and up-to-date medical records that support your claim, because you may have to go up against multiple physician reports if your claim is denied.

Another tool that Standard uses is the peer-to-peer call, where it assigns a doctor to contact your treating physicians to discuss your claim. This can be problematic, because the doctors hired by Standard (and other insurers) are often adept at asking trick questions, and don’t always explain the significance of how key terms like “own occupation” or “total disability” are defined in your particular claim. After the call, the insurance company’s doctor will typically prepare a letter “summarizing” the call in a way that favors the insurance company, in the hopes that your doctor (who is likely very busy) signs off on it without reading it carefully.

In the Pringle case, mentioned above, Standard’s doctor conducted this sort of call and the follow-up letter to the primary care doctor stated, in part, “you indicated the claimant was a ‘muscular guy’ and that, from your perspective, the claimant could function at a sedentary capacity as people in wheelchairs and who have had amputations are capable of working at a sedentary capacity.” According to the case record, the primary care doctor ended up signing off on this statement, even though it is arguably inconsistent with what the primary care doctor stated in his prior records and opinions (raising the question of whether he, in fact, read it before signing and sending it back to Standard). Ultimately, in Pringle, the court reversed the termination and required Standard to pay back benefits, but it took several years of costly litigation in order to get the denial reversed and the benefits reinstated.

These are just a few examples of things to be aware of if you have a Standard policy or claim with Standard. Standard policies are not all identical, and they are updated frequently. Your policy may or may not include the provisions mentioned above. If you are considering filing a disability claim, you should consult with an experienced disability insurance attorney to learn more about your policy and any potential issues related to your particular claim.

[1] https://www.standard.com/sites/default/files/2017annual_statement_sic.pdf.

[2] See, e.g., Pringle v. Standard Ins. Co., No. 3:18-CV-05025-RBL, 2019 WL 912297 (W.D. Wash. Feb. 25, 2019).

 

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