Disability Claims for Doctors

Medical professionals face a unique set of challenges when it comes to long term disability insurance claim filing, claim denials, and underpayment. This is often because long term disability (LTD) and disability insurance companies tend to target medical professional’s claims due to their high salaries and benefits.  This is why you need experienced attorneys, like the ones at Eric Buchanan & Associates, on your side. Disability insurance companies target these claims because they know how to take advantage of the work conditions and employment settings medical professionals have. Of course, the insurance companies don’t say this outright; instead, they will look for other reasons to deny highly compensated medical professionals.

Our Long Term Disability Lawyers are familiar with the special policies that have been sold to doctors and medical professionals. We have handled cases for all types of medical professionals and understand the different ways that disability insurance companies try to save money by denying legitimate claims.

Have You Recently Been Denied Your Claim Benefits?

Many disability insurance companies make wonderful promises about the coverage found in their disability policies, but when a medical professional files a claim, these promises are broken.  Our disability team at Eric Buchanan and Associates has experience holding insurance companies to their promises and helping medical professionals get the benefits they deserve.

We know how to combat the tactics that insurance companies use to deny medical professionals’ claims.  Have any of these happened to you?

• Many insurance companies promise doctors that their policies will be very generous and cover the doctor’s “own specialty”.  But when the doctor files a Long Term Disability claim, the insurance company claims the doctor can still do portions of his or her specialty and is therefore not disabled and entitled to full benefits.  Our disability team is familiar with this tactic and can help fight to get the benefits you were promised.

• Disability insurance companies also try to avoid paying full benefits by claiming that the doctor is only partially disabled based and only entitled to partial benefits.  Similarly, the insurance company may try to shorten the length of benefits owed.  some policies say if a person is totally disabled before a certain age, such as age 55, then benefits are payable for the person’s lifetime.  In order to avoid paying lifetime benefits, the insurance company will find the person only partially disabled at age 55.

• Disability insurance companies deny claims because the doctor did not claim within the time allowed under the policy.   We have helped many medical professionals who did their best to continue working despite being sick or injured.  Medical professionals have dedicated their lives to helping others and often continue trying to do so for many months before finally deciding to file a disability claim. The insurance company then uses this dedication against the doctor, claiming that the doctor did not file their claim in time to qualify for benefits.

• Disability insurance companies use social media evidence to deny a claim.  Many of our clients have had their benefits denied or terminated because they posted an old photo of themselves doing something they are no longer physically capable of doing.  Because social media posts can be misinterpreted, should be careful about they or friends and family post about themselves. We do not recommend deleting old posts but do place your settings to private.

•  No matter how hard you try to comply with requests for information from the insurance company, the insurance company will claim you failed to cooperate with the investigation.  After filing a claim, disability insurance companies conduct their investigation to determine if the claimant qualifies under its interpretation of “disabled.” During this time, they may request extensive documentation of the disability as well as financial statements, tax returns, etc. Failure to comply will result in the insurance company denying coverage and terminating the policy.  However, even when you do submit those documents, the insurance company will claim “we never got them” or “we need you to send them again”.  This tactic allows the insurance company to deny or delay paying a claim, while you and your family suffer with no income.

If an insurance company is treating you this way, our team at Eric Buchanan and Associates can advise you on what the insurance company can actually request from you. If the insurance company’s request is improper, you may have the right to deny their request, especially if they are asking for irrelevant information that you have already provided. With our help, you can be protected from the insurance company’s search for the information they can use to wrongfully deny your claim or their stalling to avoid paying your benefits.

Contact Eric Buchanan’s Disability Team Today

Professional disability insurance is an asset that is essential to your continued livelihood and success and is worth fighting for; the best way to avoid denial of your claim is to consult an attorney who has expertise in disability insurance law before taking action.

We are a dedicated team of long term disability insurance attorneys and will be happy to discuss any of these issues with you. For more information and assistance in collecting the full benefits from your insurance coverage, contact us today.