If you've purchased long-term disability insurance, and your claim for benefits has been denied, you'll need to act fast to protect your rights. Unlike social security disability benefits, you don't have to file an appeal before you move to the lawsuit phase. However, there are some steps you'll need to go through when filing a lawsuit for your private disability benefits. If you've received the denial letter from your private disability insurance provider, here are four steps you'll need to take right away.
Understand the Denial Letter
Now that you've received the denial letter, make sure you understand what it says. Your denial letter will contain everything you need to know about why the claim was denied. Including what steps you can take to turn the denial into an approval. Once you understand the reasons for denial, you'll be able to take steps to rectify the situation.
Fill the Gaps in Your Documentation
If you've received a denial letter, you'll need to talk to your claims representative. It's important for you to find out what medical documentation was used to reach their determination. If your claims file is missing key elements of your medical history, you'll need to fill in those gaps. Ask your doctor to provide you with copies of your medical records that pertain to your disability request. Once you have those records, submit them to your disability insurance provider.
Obtain Further Testing
If your insurance company needs additional information before they'll reconsider their decision, talk to your doctor about other testing that might be available. Additional testing may provide your insurance company with the information they need to approve your disability request. If your insurance company comes up with requests for their own testing, be sure to comply with those requests. Failure to comply with those requests could result in a hard denial of your benefits requests.
Hire an Attorney
If you've exhausted every avenue to obtain approval for your long-term disability benefits, it's time to hire an attorney. There are steps your attorney can take that might not be available to you on your own. One of those steps is to hire expert witnesses who can attest to the validity of your need for disability benefits.
If you've been denied benefits from a long-term policy that you purchased, the steps provided above will help you gain the approval you need. For questions and concerns, be sure to talk to a disability attorney near you.
