Can my insurer contact my doctor directly?
Your disability insurance company has asked your treating physician to complete a questionnaire regarding your ability to work and current medical condition, what should you do? Requesting that updated questionnaires be completed by a claimant’s treating physicians seems to be standard in the review process. Usually, these forms consist of yes or no questions, check boxes and requests for comments on restrictions and limitations. If you know the insurance company has requested such questionnaires from your physicians it is a good idea for you to make an appointment with your physician...
read moreAlways apply for CPP disability benefits.
If you have been receiving long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits for over a year your insurance company will likely require you to apply for Canada Pension Plan (“CPP”) disability benefits. This seems like a no-brainer at first, until you realize that if you win CPP disability your insurance company basically gets to keep all the money. You will have to give the insurance company the retroactive payment you get from the CPP, your overall monthly income may go down slightly. and, you might get an unexpected tax bill for the retroactive payment, even though you paid...
read more“Internal Appeals” are WORSE than a waste of time.
If an insurance company denies or terminates a claim for long-term disability benefits, the insured should not get side-tracked with the internal “appeal” process. If the goal is to have the insurer reverse their decision, or to reach a settlement with the insured, the fastest way to do this is by litigation. Let me tell you why. Let’s begin with a bit of background about internal appeals and litigation. If one disagrees with the insurance company’s decision about a claim (that is, to deny the application for long-term disability benefits, or to stop payment of benefits), then...
read moreLong Term Disability Insurance – common questions.
Q.What is long-term disability insurance? A. Long-term disability (LTD) insurance is designed to provide replacement income should you become disabled from work. Often, LTD coverage is bundled together with short-term disability coverage (which may cover, for example, only the first six months of disability) under a group insurance plan provided through your employer. If you have a private life or accident and sickness policy, you may have LTD coverage as well. Q. What types of disability are covered? A. Coverage varies from policy to policy, but generally speaking, LTD policies cover any...
read moreWhat to do if you have a disability claim.
Disability insurance policies are ‘peace of mind’ contracts that pay you a portion of your lost income if you become “disabled” from working as a result of illness or injury. These can be individual/private plans or policies (paid for privately by the person wishing to be insured) or group plans or policies (paid as part of your employment package). The contract or policy will set out the definition of disability. Contractual definitions are always open to interpretation. Generally you will qualify for benefits if you are not able to do all, or substantially all, of the duties of your...
read moreMental illness and LTD benefits.
According to Health Canada, mental illness is the second leading cause of disability in Canada. In a 2008 article, the Institute of Health Economics reported that on any given week at least 500,000 employed Canadians are unable to work due to mental illness. Disability insurance claims involving mental illness make up nearly 40% of my practice. There are a number of unique challenges of applying for disability benefits involving mental illness. 1. The insurance industry sees your claim as a “problem”. Due to volume of disability benefits claims involving mental illness, the...
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