10 More Legal Mistakes Professionals Make When
Filing a Claim for Disability (Mistake #2)
In an effort to provide professionals with more information about how the disability claims process works and identify some of the most common pitfalls for professionals filing disability claims, attorneys Ed Comitz and Derek Funk have compiled an updated list of the 10 most common mistakes we are seeing physicians, dentists, and other professionals make when they file claims under the new post-2000 generation of disability policies (which are much more complex and stringent than the policies sold to professionals in the 1980s and 1990s).
In this post, we’ll be looking at the common mistake of failing to carefully review your policy application.
Mistake # 2: Failing to Carefully Review Policy Applications
In many jurisdictions, the law allows insurance companies to void policies if the application for the policy contains a “misrepresentation.” Most people believe a “misrepresentation” means something akin to fraud, but now even an honest mistake can void coverage in some instances, depending on the jurisdiction. Most policy applications contain unclear, compound questions or ask for detailed medical information that may be difficult to recall on the spot, off the top of your head. Additionally, most companies also require applicants to sign a disclaimer stating that the applicant has thoroughly reviewed the application and all statements made in the policy application are true. In some cases, an agent may complete the application for the applicant, or the applicant may provide the answers to the application questions via a phone interview, further increasing the risk that an incorrect statement, omission, or misrepresentation will be inadvertently made during the application process. Accordingly, applicants should be very careful when completing policy applications, as an incorrect response to even a seemingly innocuous or unimportant question can be construed as a misrepresentation that could result in the limitation or loss of coverage.
Action Step: Rather than completing the policy application in your agent’s office, take the application home with you so that you can carefully complete, review, and sign it on your own. Then keep a copy of your application in an organized file, so you have a record of the answers you provided.
To read the rest of the 10 most common mistakes, click here.
To learn more about some of the tactics insurers use to deny claims and other mistakes to avoid, click here.