When Insurance Companies Deny Professional Disability Claims

A professional may face difficulties when attempting to bring a claim to a disability insurer. Doctors, lawyers, business owners, and other skilled professionals work hard and spend significant sums of money to make sure they have disability insurance policies that will protect their family and financial well being should an injry or illness prevent them from being able to work.  Despite timely paying premiums, when the time comes to file a claim after an accident, injury or significant health event, the insured too often faces delays, ongoing requests for information, and a denial of claim.  Disability insurance companies, while happy to take premium payments,  look for reasons to deny benefits, especially for high-earning professionals.

In some cases, an insurer may assert that the professional is not disabled enough to receive benefits because they conntinue to perform or could still perform a minor portion of tier prior work, despite the fact that they remain unable to perform the primary duties that allowed them to earn a living.  In those cases, the insurer will claim that the professional is only “partially disabled” rather than “totally disabled,” in an attempt to pay only a small percentage of the monthly benefit.  Under most individual policies taken out by professionals and business owners, the ability to perform a small percentage of their prior occupational duties does not disqualify them from being eligible for total disability benefits.  Many of these policies state that if the insured cannot perform the “material” duties of their occupation then they are TOTALLY DISABLED.  Thus, a dentist that normally performed numerous dental procedures each day but can now only review x-rays and provide treatment recommendations would still be totally disabled.

If you have any questions about a potential claim, current claim, or your policy, plesae do not hesitate to contact us at (855) 599-3247 or through our website at www.dialwgroup.com. I can also be contacted directly at [email protected]

In other cases, insurance companies may try to minimize the level of intensity of your work or your field of specialization. For example, they may try to argue that you could do some form of professional work, even if you can no longer practice your specialty. In other cases, insurers may attempt to argue that if you can perform any job at all, they can deny your claim. They may argue this even if the potential work you could allegedly perform does not use your professional skills or approach your current level of compensation.

Our experienced attorneys have years of experience in dealing with insurance companies who have denied disability claims. If you are a doctor, lawyer or other professional facing resistance from an insurance company to your valid private disability claim, you can learn more at our page on the topic.