Was Your Long-Term Disability
Denied? Get Help in Wisconsin.
When Insurance Refuses Your Long-Term Disability, You Can Appeal & Get Relief
You’re a planner. You think ahead. You signed on for long-term disability (LTD) insurance offered by your employer, or you bought a policy yourself.
When a serious health crisis emerged, you didn’t have to panic about money. You hoped it would never happen, but you had a financial backup in place.
Then the insurance company—the company you or your employer paid premiums to for years—denied your long-term benefit claim. Or you may have received benefits already only to see them end abruptly.
This happens all the time, even to hard-working, careful planners like you. It’s infuriating to see insurance companies put profits over people.
Now it’s time to protect your rights. Whether you were immediately denied long-term disability benefits, or your existing long-term disability benefits were terminated, an experienced disability lawyer can help you fight for what you’re due.
The Wisconsin long-term disability lawyers at the Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel know how to hold insurance companies accountable and get you a better result. Our attorneys have been securing crucial assistance for people with health and financial challenges for decades.
Enlist us to help you preserve the lifestyle you worked hard to build.
Two Common Forms of Long-Term Disability Denial
Economic security is why you paid for long-term disability insurance in the first place. It feels like a gut punch when you can’t get those benefits after a health problem disrupts your career.
A denial, however, is not the end. You can appeal for long-term disability benefits. You can even sue. Having support from an experienced long-term disability lawyer can up your chances of success.
Insurance companies withhold benefits in two common ways. A skilled disability lawyer knows how best to approach each one.
No. 1: The long-term disability insurance company denies your claim from the start.
Insurance companies are in business to make money, and paying out claims impacts their bottom line. They will look for any technical excuse to deny a claim. They may even investigate or surveil you to undermine your case.
Some common reasons claims are denied include:
- Inadequate medical evidence. Missing regularly scheduled medical visits, gaps in your medical records, lacking a letter of support from your physician—any of these can lead to a denial.
- You don’t meet their definition of a disability. An insurance representative may try to say your type of medical condition isn’t covered. Some plans limit coverage to your inability to do your specific job, while others focus on your inability to do any job. These subtle differences can sink a claim. Your lawyer can help you reassert your eligibility for benefits.
- You miss a deadline. There may be time limits for filing claims and appeals. Insurance companies sometimes drag out their process then say you’re too late.
No. 2: You initially began collecting benefits, but the insurance company suddenly stopped paying.
Most plans have requirements you must meet to keep getting benefits.
Some medical conditions have time limits attached to them that restrict how long an insurance company will keep paying.
Policies may require you to apply for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits to offset the insurance company’s costs. If you stop or disrupt your medical treatment, insurance companies can use that gap against you.
Knowing your case inside and out, as well as the fine print of your policy, is difficult enough when you’re healthy and busy with more pressing things than reading insurance documents—let alone when you’re dealing with a health decline that impacts your ability to work.
The lawyers at the Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel focus their professional lives on dealing with this industry and this process for you, easing your burden.
Get in touch with our long-term disability appeals team in Wisconsin. We can make sure you’re treated fairly and get every available chance at the benefits you deserve.
How to Appeal a Denial of Long-Term Disability Benefits
You don’t have to take a long-term disability denial at face value. Most employer-provided plans are covered by the federal ERISA law. This sets standards insurance companies must follow. Your attorney can hold them to it.
Here are some of the key pieces to appealing a long-term disability insurance denial:
- First, file an appeal through your insurance company’s administrative appeals process. Start by reading your denial letter carefully. ERISA law imposes a 180-day time limit for filing your administrative appeal.
- Comb through your claim for inaccuracies or missing information. Collect your latest medical evidence and work status.
- Be careful about settlement offers from the insurance company. They have very different motives from what’s fair in your situation. They’re trying to avoid awarding you the fullest amount you’re entitled to receive.
- File a lawsuit against your insurance company for breach of contract if you reach the end of their administrative process and still haven’t won benefits. After you’ve exhausted the administrative route, you can sue. Hiring an experienced long-term disability lawyer is key to positioning your case for the best outcome in court.
Laws governing long-term disability coverage are complex, and appealing your case can be overwhelming. The insurance company may be hoping to wear you down so you give up.
The lawyers at the Becker Law Office and Hawks Quindel give you the strength to insist on what you deserve.
We’ve helped thousands in Wisconsin get benefits. Let us help you stay on financially stable ground so you can maintain and move on with your life.