Protecting Yourself in the IME Process: Intake Forms
Up next in our series of tips for disability insurance policyholders being asked to undergo an Independent Medical Examination (“IME”):
Complete intake forms in advance. When you go to the IME, the doctor will most likely ask you to complete intake forms, including questionnaires outlining all of your symptoms and medical history. If you are stressed or hurried, you may forget to include something that could support your claim for disability insurance benefits. But if you have the forms in advance, you can answer each question carefully and accurately without leaving anything out. Consider asking (or having your lawyer ask) if you can have the forms beforehand to save time once you arrive.
Also review our prior tips on getting a disability insurance attorney involved and reviewing the disability policy requirements.
Protecting Yourself in the IME Process: Reviewing the Policy
In this series, we are outlining some tips for claimants facing an Independent Medical Examination (“IME”). Yesterday, we wrote about getting a disability insurance attorney involved. Today, we’ll explain another important step:
Make sure the exam is required by the disability insurance policy. This is another step where it is beneficial to have an attorney involved to review your disability policy. Most disability insurance policies do have a provision that allows the company to have you submit to an Independent Medical Examination or Physical Examination. However, sometimes those provisions aren’t totally clear on exactly what types of examinations are allowed.
For instance, here is a typical disability insurance policy provision that your insurer might cite to tell you that you have to undergo an IME:
At our expense, we can have a physician of our choice examine you as often as reasonably required while your claim is continuous.
This provision states that the examination should be conducted by a “physician.” Do you have to submit to a Functional Capacity Evaluation with a physical therapist? The provision also states the examination should be “reasonably required.” Has that qualification been met?
Here is another typical provision:
We shall have the right to have you medically examined at our expense when and as often as we may reasonably require while you claim to be disabled under this policy.
This provision says that you have the right to be “medically examined.” Does that mean you can only be examined by a medical doctor? Do you have to undergo a neuropsychological evaluation with a Ph.D.? Again, has the qualification that the examination be “reasonably required” been met?
These are the kinds of questions you may want to get answered before you agree to the exam.
In the next post, we’ll talk about the IME intake forms.
Protecting Yourself in the IME Process
As we have discussed before, disability insurance claimants are often asked to submit to “independent” medical examinations (“IME”) with a doctor chosen by the insurance company.
IMEs are a source of anxiety for many insureds, especially because they are often a first step towards termination of a disability claim. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to help ensure that you are treated fairly.
Over the next few days, we will outline some general tips on dealing with IMEs. Keep in mind that these tips are no substitute for the advice of a disability insurance lawyer who knows the specifics of your situation. Hence, today’s tip:
Get your attorney involved. If you don’t have a disability insurance lawyer to help you with your claim, now is a good time to seek some advice. Oftentimes, insurance companies use IMEs to try to show that you aren’t entitled to disability benefits anymore. A lawyer can help protect your rights during the IME process by, among other things, finding out what the disability policy requires (and doesn’t require) and discussing those requirements with your insurer. If you aren’t sure how to find the right lawyer, consider our Questions to Ask When Choosing a Disability Insurance Attorney.
Case Study: What Does “Material and Substantial” Mean?
In 2007, the Georgia Court of Appeals had to address this question in Pomerance v. Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America. 654 S.E.2d. 638 (2007). Alan Pomerance was an obstetrician/gynecologist with four disability insurance policies from Berkshire. These policies provided own-occupation coverage, meaning that “total disability” was defined as “your inability to perform the material and substantial duties of your occupation.”
Dr. Pomerance’s occupational duties included delivering babies, surgeries, C-sections, office visits, making hospital rounds, and being on call. After being diagnosed with a degenerative knee condition, Dr. Pomerance filed a total disability claim with Berkshire, explaining that he could no longer stand for long period of time, so he couldn’t perform deliveries and hospital surgeries, be on call, or assist in the emergency room. Because of his disability, Dr. Pomerance was forced to restrict his practice solely to wellness office visits, which included patient exams, counseling, nonsurgical care, and minor biopsies, but none of his other former duties.
Berkshire declined to pay Dr. Pomerance total disability benefits, arguing that he was only partially disabled because he could still perform one of his “substantial” duties, i.e., office visits. Dr. Pomerance contacted Berkshire and objected to its determination, but Berkshire still refused him total disability benefits. Dr. Pomerance filed suit against Berkshire, claiming breach of contract and bad faith refusal to pay the amounts owed. Continue reading “Case Study: What Does “Material and Substantial” Mean?”
Case Study: Berkshire Attempts to Use the “Dual Occupation Defense”
When a professional that owns her own business files a disability insurance claim, the insurer will often try to exploit the claimant’s ownership status to deny total disability benefits. The insurance company will argue that the professional has not one, but two occupations: 1) professional and 2) business owner. The disability insurer will argue that the claimant isn’t actually disabled because she can still perform administrative or managerial functions, even if she can’t do the duties of her actual profession. This is sometimes called the “dual occupation defense.”
For example, in Shapiro v. Berkshire Life Insurance Company, Berkshire attempted to use the dual occupation defense to deny total disability benefits to a dentist. The dentist, Paul Shapiro, had an own-occupation policy, with “total disability” defined as “the inability to perform the material and substantial duties of your occupation.”
Dr. Shapiro owned his own practices, but spent the overwhelming majority of his time and effort doing clinical work. He spent 90 percent of his time in chairside dentistry, working on patients, and just 10 percent of his time doing the administrative work that any practice owner needs to accomplish. In fact, in the year before he became disabled, Dr. Shapiro saw nine to eleven patients each day, and performed an average of 275 dental procedures per month, working 40 to 45 hours each week. He only spent one and a half to four hours each week attending to various administrative and managerial duties like personnel decisions, staff meetings, and computer troubleshooting.
After progressive osteoarthritis and spondylosis of the elbow, neck and other joints left Dr. Shapiro unable to perform chairside dentistry, he filed for total disability benefits with Berkshire. Rather than paying him total disability benefits, however, Berkshire determined that Dr. Shapiro was only entitled to partial disability benefits:
Berkshire’s coverage position was that Shapiro’s occupation immediately preceding the onset of his disability was as an administrator and manager of his various dental practices as well as a practitioner of chair dentistry; because the disability did not prevent Shapiro from doing his administrative or managerial work, Berkshire reasoned, Shapiro did not satisfy the policies’ definition of total disability: “the inability to perform the material and substantial duties of your occupation.”
Dr. Shapiro brought a suit against Berkshire in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for breach of contract, among other things. That court found in his favor on the breach of contract claim, but Berkshire appealed. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court and affirmed the decision in Dr. Shapiro’s favor. The Court of Appeals determined that Dr. Shapiro “spent the vast majority of his time performing chair dentistry,” and that his administrative work was merely incidental to his material and substantial duties as a full-time dentist.
Though Berkshire’s attempt at the dual occupation defense was unsuccessful in this case, the Court of Appeals indicated that there could be some situations in which it might work:
At some point, a medical entrepreneur’s administrative and managerial responsibilities may well become the material and substantial duties of the insured’s occupation.
The message for disability insurance policyholders that own a business is to be careful how much time you spend in administrative tasks, and how you explain your occupation to your insurer. Otherwise, you could be inadvertently setting your claim up for denial.
Berkshire Criticized by Maryland Insurance Commissioner for “Artful Neglect”
Disability insurers have a duty to fully investigate claims for benefits, as the insurance companies are well aware. Unfortunately, some claims departments may focus their efforts on looking like they are investigating and considering information rather than actually doing so.
Berkshire, a disability insurance company that sells own-occupation policies to dentists and doctors, has garnered criticism from at least one state’s insurance commissioner for this very practice.
In Berkshire Life Insurance Company v. Maryland Insurance Administration, 142 Md. App. 628, 791 A.2d 942 (App. 2002), Berkshire attempted to claim that its insured was only partially disabled, and therefore it was only obligated to pay a fraction of the total benefits that were payable under the policy. In finding that Berkshire’s conduct was “arbitrary and capricious” in violation of Maryland’s insurance statutes and ordering it to pay restitution to the policyholder, the Maryland Insurance Commissioner also found:
Overall, Berkshire’s actions here represent what may be termed as “artful neglect.” Berkshire gives the appearance of investigating a claim in order to render a good faith claims determination. As part of this appearance, Berkshire timely requests financial information from its insured and then timely requests more information from its insured. In direct contrast to this “appearance,” however, Berkshire does not analyze the information at all, much less use an analysis in a cogent and rational way to support a proper claims determination.
In a more recent Arizona case, Nunley v. Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, 2009 WL 529901 (D. Ariz. 2009), Berkshire tried to have the United States District Court rule that it could not be subject to punitive damages in a case involving a disabled dentist’s total disability claim. The Court, however, denied Berkshire’s motion, finding that Berkshire might have to pay punitive damages because it did not investigate the dentist’s claim adequately or in a timely fashion.
This “artful neglect” is unlawful, and may subject a disability insurance carrier to bad faith liability. A disability insurance claimant who thinks her insurer is not adequately investigating the claim should contact an attorney to help protect her rights.
Private Investigator Surveillance Methods and Terms
Private investigators use a variety of tactics to produce evidence that may be used to deny your disability insurance claim. Below is a list of different private investigator surveillance methods and terms.
Disability Surveillance – refers to the monitoring, recording and documenting of activities or behavior of another. In the disability context, this surveillance is called sub rosa surveillance. Sub rosa, a Latin phrase which translated means “under the rose,” denotes the secretive and clandestine nature of private investigator actions.
Disability Stake outs – according to Shannon Detective Service, Inc.—a private investigation company whose client list includes Arizona Counties Insurance Pool, CNA Commercial Insurance, Danielson Insurance, Farmers Insurance, Federated Mutual Insurance Company, Hartford Insurance, Insurance Company of the West, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Nationwide Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Seabright Insurance Company, Sedgwick Claims Service, Travelers Insurance and Westfield Insurance—this is a stationary surveillance method by which a private investigator documents and records a claimant’s activities. The hallmark feature of a stake out is that the private investigator does not move or follow the disabled claimant. In a typical stake out operation the private investigator may station in front of your home or office and record you as you come and go. The goal of the stake out is to produce evidence that will enable the insurance company to deny your disability insurance claim. An ABC News story shows how an insurance company successfully denied a doctor’s disability claim with evidence produced during a stake out.
Disability Pretexting – the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines pretexting as “the practice of getting your personal information under false pretenses.” Private investigators are engaging in illegal conduct when they use pretexting to obtain your personal information from a financial institution. See 15 U.S.C. § 6801, et seq.
Here’s an example of how this works: someone pretends to be you and calls your bank. The person claims to have forgotten your checkbook, account number, social security number or other sensitive information. He then tries to get this information from the bank. Such conduct constitutes pretexting and violates federal law. Id.
Although private investigators claim to use only “appropriate” pretexting methods, methods which are not illegal per se, these are the same techniques which are used to facilitate identity theft and consumer fraud. Check out the FTC website for more information about pretexting and how you can protect yourself.
Disability Tracking Devices and GPS – this area of the law is still evolving. In a recent Supreme Court case, United States v. Jones, the Court held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle constitutes a “search” under the Fourth Amendment; therefore, law enforcement officials need a warrant before installing the device. 132 S. Ct. 945, 949 (2012). Although the Court did not address the attachment of GPS devices in the private investigation context, its decision largely turned on the physical trespass involved in attaching a GPS device to another person’s vehicle. Id. The Court stated:
It is important to be clear about what occurred in this case: The Government physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information. We have no doubt that such a physical intrusion would have been considered a “search” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when it was adopted.
Id. Therefore, this ruling may be used to argue against private investigator installations of GPS devices since such installation would also constitute a physical trespass. Private investigation companies, such as Shannon Detective Services, Inc. (SDS), are now looking how to bypass the physical trespass issue altogether through implementation of other technologies that do not require physical attachment. Here are two examples of other technologies cited from the SDS website:
- Disability stingrays (a device that can triangulate a cell phone signal to locate a user) will become popular in the future as a way to skirt around the new GPS laws for law enforcement.
- Disability ping of cell phones (by accessing a user’s cell phone GPS chip) will also fill the gap created by GPS legislation since the FCC has mandated GPS chips to be installed in all new cell phones by 2018.
Get it in Writing: Why Verbal Communications with Your Disability Insurance Company Can Be Dangerous
We often advise doctors and dentists facing a disability insurance claim to handle communications with their insurance company via mail rather than on the telephone. There are several reasons why written letters are better than verbal communication. For example:
• Claims handlers are trained to ask loaded questions. While the questions they ask may seem routine or mundane to the policyholder, the answers they elicit can have serious consequences that can help the insurance company deny a legitimate disability claim. For example, a claims administrator might call and ask what you have been doing that day. If you answer that you went out to pick up a prescription, the claims administrator can misconstrue your response as proof that you are not disabled from your occupation. No matter how short or how unavoidable your errand may have been, the insurance company can argue that if you are able to leave the house and perform limited activities, you can still perform your job. If the same question is posed in a letter, you can take the time to carefully consider the question and its consequences, preferably having a disability insurance lawyer help you to answer in a way that won’t be misconstrued.
• Telephone conversations may not be documented accurately. When a claims handler calls a policyholder to discuss his or her disability benefits, the handler will normally write a memo of what was said during the call for the claim file. These memos are used as evidence for disability benefit determinations, and potentially for later litigation. The primary problem is that the memos are written by the claims handler for the benefit of the insurance company, so whether intentionally or not, they are one-sided and biased towards the company’s interests. Another problem occurs when the claims handler doesn’t write a call memo at all; important conversations can be lost entirely. On the other hand, if a policyholder exchanges letters with the insurance company (and keeps copies), the insured can document his or her side of the story without worrying that something will be lost or misreported.
• Insurance companies use jargon that can be hard to understand. As Unum’s UK CEO has admitted, insurance companies use language that is indecipherable to most policyholders. If a claims handler calls you to talk about an elimination period, reservation of rights, ERISA, or the own-occupation definition of disability, you may not be able to completely process what he or she is telling you on the spot. This can cause you to miss important details or inadvertently waive important rights. If the same information comes to you in writing, however, you have time to research the terms and/or get advice from a disability insurance attorney.
For these reasons and more, it is crucial to get communications with your disability insurance company in writing. At the very least, a person filing for disability insurance benefits should take detailed notes of every conversation with an insurance company representative.
Questions to Ask When Choosing
a Disability Insurance Attorney
For those looking for help with their disability insurance claims, choosing an attorney is an important step. However, it can often be difficult to determine whether a particular disability insurance lawyer is the right one for you to work with. Here are some general questions to ask to help you evaluate a potential lawyer or law firm.
1. How many cases does the attorney take on each year?
2. What percentage of the attorney’s practice is devoted to disability insurance claims?
3. Does the attorney exclusively work with individual policy claimants, or does he/she handle ERISA and Social Security cases?
4. Has the attorney published any articles or been interviewed about disability insurance topics?
5. What insurance companies has the attorney dealt with?
6. Does the attorney offer comprehensive representation or short term assistance?
7. Does the attorney’s fee structure work for you?
8. What does the attorney expect to accomplish with your claim?
Selecting the right disability insurance attorney to help with your claim is a decision not to take lightly. You should never be afraid to ask questions, and the attorney will be glad to answer them.
Out of Contract Demands:
When You Can Tell Your Disability Insurer “No”
Every disability insurance policy is a contract. With this contract come certain rights and obligations on the part of the disability insurance company and on the part of the policyholder. The insurer promises to pay you disability benefits and you promise to fulfill certain conditions. One of the most important things to remember about this contractual relationship is that if it’s not in your policy, you don’t have to do it.
Often, disability insurers will ask a person filing for disability benefits to do certain things or provide certain information in order to qualify for benefits. What every policyholder needs to realize is that the disability insurer cannot force you to do something that is not outlined in your policy. There are many examples of disability insurance companies’ demands that may not be required under the terms of the policy, such as:
• That you see a certain type of doctor
• That you undergo surgery for your disabling condition
• That you get a particular treatment or therapy
• That you provide your Social Security or workers’ compensation claim file
• That you attend a certain type of examination
• That you complete detailed descriptions of your daily activities
• That you allow a private investigator into your home
The bottom line is that a policyholder filing for disability insurance benefits should know what their policy requires and what it doesn’t. The best way to be sure an insurer doesn’t get away with making extra-contractual demands is to have a disability insurance attorney review your policy and advocate with the company for your rights.
Even Unum CEO Admits Their Insurance Policy Language Is Confusing
As we have blogged many times, even seemingly straightforward terms like “total disability” or “appropriate medical treatment” in your disability insurance policy may have different meanings in the context of a disability insurance claim than they do in everyday English. In a video posted on YouTube, Jack McGarry, CEO, Unum UK, is surprisingly candid in addressing how their insurance policy language is confusing.
Insurance is so confusing, in large part because we’ve made it that way, the insurance companies. We use acronyms instead of words, we use lingo instead of language. We’ve made it easy for us to communicate with each other, but we’ve made it very, very difficult for consumers to understand what we’re saying, and we need to change that.
[Consumers] are confused by our products, they don’t understand the choices, they don’t understand the coverage, and one of the reasons they don’t understand it is because the language we use to describe it, they find it confusing, and a little scary, so we’re partnering with Plain English to help simplify the language we use to describe what we do so everybody can understand it.
While Unum is apparently taking steps to clarify the language in its policies in the United Kingdom, it is of little help to American insureds who purchased policies written in language that is, in the words of Unum’s UK CEO, ”very, very difficult for consumers to understand.” The help of an experienced disability insurance attorney to interpret the language of your policy can be critical in ensuring you receive the benefits to which you are entitled.
Will New Demands on Healthcare Professionals Lead to More Disabled Doctors?
A recent article by health insurance writer Allison Bell explains, from an insurance industry perspective, why the new administrative demands on health care professionals might lead to an increase in doctors facing disability:
[I]t seems reasonable to ask whether, for example, the new pressure to convert to electronic health records will lead to some physicians at small or understaffed practices to develop carpal tunnel syndrome and blurry vision from trying to enter, or at least, check, many of the records themselves. Will sleep deprivation related to an increase in workload cause or aggravate objective conditions, such as lack of exercise, obesity and high blood pressure, that will, in turn, lead to an increase in the number of doctors with disability insurance who suffer heart attacks. strokes and disabling car accidents?
Healthcare professionals: Do you think the push for electronic health records and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will lead to an increase in disabled doctors?
Timing Is Everything: When to Discuss Your Potential Claim with a Physician
When it comes to disability insurance, your treating physician’s support can be critical to getting your legitimate disability claim approved. If your doctor can’t provide adequate documentation of your condition or is reluctant to get involved, there is a much higher chance that your claim will be denied. However, fully discussing your condition with a professional, compassionate treating physician will help ensure supportive medical records. When you are involved in a disability insurance claim, it is important to understand how to approach your treating doctor so that he or she can help you.
When to discuss your potential claim with a physician is an important timing issue. Instead of trying to enlist your doctor’s help at the very first visit, you should wait to talk to your treating physician until after he or she knows you and your condition well enough to opine accurately as to your ability to work. It is vital that you develop a relationship of trust and confidence with your doctor before inviting him or her to assist you in your claim. Physicians are often reluctant to support claims for disability insurance benefits if they question the motivations behind the claims. A physician who has treated, without success, the policyholder making a legitimate disability claim will be more willing to cooperate with the extensive process.
How to Get a Copy of Your Disability Insurance Policy
Many of the questions surrounding a disability insurance claim depend on the language in your policy. Thus, the first step to a successful disability claim is getting a copy of that policy. Though it is always important to keep a copy of your disability insurance policy and any related documents, sometimes policyholders forget to do so, they lose the document, or the papers become accidentally damaged.
The simplest way to get a copy of your policy is to call or send a letter to your insurance company directly. You can search for your disability insurer’s phone number and address on the Arizona Department of Insurance website. The insurer may require you to pay a minor fee, but they will send you a copy.
Once you receive your copy, check to make sure it is actually yours and that no pages are missing or damaged. If you have questions about the provisions in the disability insurance policy or filing a claim for benefits, you can bring your copy to a disability insurance attorney who can help interpret it and guide you through the disability claims process.
Working with Disability Claim Managers
– Know Your Rights and Be Vigilant
Even though disability insurance companies have a duty under Arizona law to give your interests equal consideration to their own, insurers rarely act for the policyholder’s benefit. Claims benefit managers are frequently taught how to approach disability claimants to get a desired result, usually a denial or termination of disability benefits. From our years of experience with the disability insurance industry, we have learned some of the tactics claims personnel use. The following is a list of strategies to beware of. Though not every disability claim manager engages in these practices, it is always a good idea for claimants to be vigilant in order to protect their rights under their policy.
- Treating claims like a unit of production. Disability insurance companies often don’t care to know how being disabled and filing for benefits affects you personally. Don’t expect that they will understand or be sympathetic to the personal toll the entire process takes on a claimant, especially a doctor or dentist who has spent years in study and practice to achieve professional success. To disability insurers, each claim is a unit of production being channeled towards an end goal.
- Misinterpreting policy provisions. Disability insurance claims managers are not lawyers, and just like most people, often have trouble properly interpreting complicated insurance policies. For example, claims personnel might inform an insured that her claim is an “any occupation” policy when in fact it is an “own occupation” policy.
- Claiming rights that don’t exist under the policy. Claims managers will also frequently indicate that the disability insurance company can make claimants do certain things or provide certain information that is not actually required under the individual policy. For instance, an insurer might tell a claimant he needs to complete a detailed daily activity report, when there is actually no such requirement to do so in his policy. Make sure you know what your policy does and does not actually allow.
- Acting like your friend. Employees of disability insurance companies often try to act like your friend or partner in the process, when they are actually channeling your disability claim towards denial or termination of benefits. Often, claims managers will call an insured for a friendly chat, all the while peppering the insured with seemingly innocuous questions meant to provide evidence for claim denial. Policyholders should understand the questions being asked, and not get distracted by the congeniality of the caller.
- Sending “field investigators” to talk about your claim. Another common practice in the disability insurance industry is to schedule an in-person interview in the claimant’s home with a “field investigator.” These interviewers will spend hours asking about your symptoms and activities in excruciating detail, taking copious notes and even asking to photograph you. What they may not make clear is that the field investigator has no authority over the disposition of your claim. Rather, he or she is a private investigator hired by your insurance company to gather evidence against your claim and provide a starting point for surveillance.
The best way to make sure that these claims management practices aren’t used to take advantage of you when making a claim for disability benefits is to enlist a disability insurance attorney who knows the tactics used and how to guard against them. Nevertheless, every insured should understand their insurance company’s approach to claims management and be cautious in their interactions with claims management personnel.
Surveillance of Disability Claimants: When Are Private Investigators Watching?
As we have discussed in the past, surveillance is a tool commonly used by disability insurance companies to analyze – and often deny – legitimate disability claims. When surveillance is taken out of context or misconstrued, it can lead to unfair disability denials.
All too often, disability insurance companies expect people with disabilities to stay at home, in bed. What they fail to realize is that most doctors actually encourage disabled claimants to try some activities of daily living, light physical therapy, or social interaction. Just because a disabled person can eat chips at a restaurant with family doesn’t mean he can perform all of the duties of his former occupation. Nevertheless, disability insurers often try to get any physical activity on camera and use it as proof that the claimant is not disabled.
Many people filing for private disability wonder when private investigators are watching them. After years of dealing with disability insurance detectives, we have recognized the five most popular times for surveillance of policyholders:
- During holidays. This is when policyholders are likely to be out of the house enjoying time with family and friends.
- On the claimant’s birthday. Just as on holidays, a disabled claimant is likely to push themselves to get out and enjoy the day.
- Over weekends. During weekends, insureds or more likely to attempt minor errands or go outside with family.
- Any time they have a chance of catching a claimant engaged in physical activity, based on information provided by the claimant on activity logs and in interviews. For example, if the claimant wrote on an activity log that he takes his dogs out in the morning, the private investigator will be there with a camera to document the insured walking in the yard.
- Near the end of fiscal quarters, when the insurance company is under pressure to save money by denying or terminating claims.
Don’t Toss the Policy: Important Documents for a Disability Insurance Claim
If you are a doctor, dentist, or other professional considering filing a long-term disability claim, there are some key disability insurance documents to collect and keep in order to properly understand and document your claim, including:
1. Your disability insurance policy
2. The insurance application
3. Notes or letters from meetings with the insurer’s sales agents
4. Notes of telephone conversations with your insurance company employees
5. Letters to and from your insurance company
6. Emails to and from your insurance company
7. Medical records
8. Billing records from your practice
9. A daily pain journal, if necessary
Make sure to keep all of your disability insurance papers and notes in an organized file, and if you have to file a claim, contact an experienced disability insurance attorney who can help you interpret your policy, present your claim, and communicate with your insurer.
Disability Claim Investigation:
What Can My Insurer Do In Arizona?
What your disability insurance company can do when it is investigating an Arizona claim for disability benefits largely depends on your specific circumstances and the language in your policy. However, there are some common tactics that Arizona courts will often allow – and some they will not.
What the disability insurance company can do
- Audit your tax returns and billing records
- Review your medical files
- Use a private investigator to conduct video and photograph surveillance
- Look at your public Facebook profile and pictures
- Follow you on Twitter
- Order an Independent Medical Exam
- Have an insurance company doctor opine about your disability
- Ask for a Functional Capacity Evaluation
- Contact your treating physician
- Schedule face-to-face interviews with you
- Interview your family, friends, co-workers and employees
- Demand precise quantifications of your time spent in every professional activity pre- and post-disability
- Pay your claim under a reservation of rights
What the disability insurance company cannot do
- Impose requirements on you that are not in your policy
- Attempt to influence the opinions of independent medical examiners
- Misrepresent policy provisions
- Conduct abusive interviews
- Unfairly delay a decision on your claim
- Fail to conduct a timely, adequate investigation of your disability claim
- Destroy key documents
- Lie about actions taken on a claim
- Place their financial interests ahead of your contractual rights
- Force you to litigate by offering an unreasonably low lump-sum buyout
When it comes to claims investigation, disability insurance companies often skirt the limits of what they can legally do. If you think your insurer might be acting in bad faith, contact an experienced Arizona disability insurance attorney to protect your disability benefits.
An Inside Look at Insurer Surveillance
Insurers often spy on insureds in an attempt to “catch” them appearing non-disabled. Traditionally, insurers have hired private investigators to videotape insureds in their daily routines. More recently, disability insurers have begun to use Facebook and other social media as a one-way mirror for electronically peeping into an insured’s private life. Old-fashioned stakeouts and video surveillance are alive and well, however. Because it is so easy to misconstrue even a few seconds of video footage, all insureds need to be aware of the possibility for surveillance.
A recent article written by the insurance industry and aimed at insurers exposes the way insurers regard surveillance. Though the article cites a private investigator as saying that surveillance is the “unbiased documentation of a person’s activities,” the reality is anything but. Disability insurers will hire PIs to watch a claimant for days, and then purport that a single fifteen-second clip of the insured watering his outdoor plants, for example, is evidence of a fraudulent claim. They fail to understand the reality: Disability means unable to perform occupational duties, not absolute and perpetual helplessness. What does the insurer do with this video evidence? In their own words, “[impeach] the claimant, ultimately minimizing the value of his claim.”
Even if your insurer has obtained video surveillance, an experienced disability insurance attorney can place the video in its proper context—not just the five second clip that the insurer wants to show. Surveillance is another reason why it is important to consult with an attorney should you need to file a disability insurance claim.
How Specific is Your “Own Occupation”?
We have discussed many times the importance of an “own occupation” disability insurance policy. Such policies provide benefits if the insured is unable to perform the substantial and material duties of his own occupation, rather than requiring that the insured be unable to perform any occupation anywhere. But how specific is your own occupation?
John Simon, an environmental trial lawyer with a national practice, became disabled after an automobile accident. Pain in his legs made sitting, standing, and driving difficult. He had hand tremors, and pain medication caused a cognitive decline. He was diagnosed with regional pain syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet Prudential Insurance only paid benefits for a year before terminating Simon, claiming that law was a sedentary profession and that there was no proof that he was incapable of performing his “occupation.”
As the District Court found in its decision, Simon “was no ordinary lawyer.” He was able to establish that his national environmental law practice required extensive travel by air and automobile, including carrying heavy files. Simon spent most of his time outside of the office developing a client base, litigating, lecturing on environmental law, and serving on a government commission.
Most of Simon’s practice was originating clients for the firm rather than performing extensive legal work on each case. During his disability period, his bonuses from the firm actually increased—from his fee sharing for bringing in new clients. Thus his bonuses reflected past rather than present efforts. Though the insurer pointed to Simon’s increasing compensation as evidence of his ability to practice law, it failed to investigate the nature of that compensation.
The court found that Prudential failed to consider the functional requirements of Simon’s particular work activities. It held that all of the factors weighed in favor of concluding that Prudential’s termination of benefits was arbitrary and capricious. John Simon had his disability benefits reinstated.
This case is an excellent example of how important it is to ensure that a disability claim is properly presented to the insurance company. All too often, disability insurers attempt to misclassify insureds’ occupations as to scope or type of duties. It may be necessary, as it was in this case, to litigate to force the insurer to recognize its obligations under the disability insurance policy. Thus, if you are filing a disability insurance claim, it is important to consult with an experienced disability insurance attorney.
