The insurance company handling your Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability claim has many Disability insurance tricks up their sleeves disguised as efforts to help you which actually work against you and should be employed with eyes wide open.
Recently, a client came to us and was full of angst due to misinformation he had been given by both the claims representative and the information he was receiving from the online portal. The information posted to the system is often inaccurate and outdated. This kind of daily back and forth can seriously hinder a claimant’s ability to appropriately treat and focus on their medical conditions with undue anxiety added to the mix.
Insurance companies may also employ an automated telephone system, which can be used to get basic status and update information on your claim. The issues with these robo-systems are similar to those of the online portals. The information is often outdated and incorrect, further exacerbating the anxiety involved in the course of these kinds of claims where your livelihood is on the line.
Furthermore, a claim representative may ask you to engage in vocational rehabilitation. Of course, this is an activity that you would be required to participate in to the best of your ability. The goal, ultimately, is for you to re-enter the workplace if this route is possible. However, sometimes this is not possible. If you are requested to participate in vocational rehabilitation, it would be important to seek guidance from legal counsel prior to doing so. This is because your words and actions during the course of such training can and will be used against you.
One of the biggest pitfalls insurance companies employ in an effort to “help” you involves your claim for social security disability benefits. You are given an option to employ the company known as Allsup to work you through the social security process. In doing so, the attorney-client privilege you would enjoy with an attorney you hired on your own would be lost entirely as all information uncovered or which you share with Allsup is also being shared with the insurance company handling your claim for long term disability benefits. In addition to this, the insurance company with have greater access to any social security disability benefits which you are awarded without much say so on your part.
These tools are generally used against you instead of working to help you and represent a few, but not all, of the common pitfalls of working through a claim for long term disability benefits without an experienced attorney working for you.
If you have any questions about your Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability claim, please give Herbert M. Hill, P.A. a call and we would be glad to answer any questions you may have. We are available at407-839-0005 or, toll-free, 844-454-59995, If you would like, after discussing your case, we can set a conference. In most circumstances, that conference would be free of charge but in no circumstance would you be under any obligation to hire me nor would you feel any pressure from me to do so.
Herbert M. Hill, P.A. is a law firm located in Orlando, Florida with a practice extending throughout the state of Florida. While the vast majority of cases handled are for disability insurance benefits, areas of practice include employee benefit claims of all sorts. The firm handles any claims arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) for disability benefits, medical benefits, retirement benefits of any sort, including pension, 401k, termination agreements or the like as well as claims arising under private disability policies.
