The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. is one of the oldest and most prominent insurance and investment firms in the United States. The stellar insurance company covers individuals and entities wanting to secure their workers, vehicles, and businesses. Although lawyers hold a long-lasting reputation for the best insurance services, Hartford Insurance endeavors to protect their business interests, so claim denials are rampant.
Many people with long-term disability cases ended up getting rejected for not satisfying the policies’ definition. Some failed to provide sufficient documentation/evidence or had contracting online footprints. Receiving a denial verdict after submitting your Hartford Insurance claim is draining, but with these five steps, you can appeal the denial and increase approval probabilities.
1. Hire an Experienced Disability Appeal Attorney
Disability appeals are a battlefield for the legally experienced. Hartford Insurance leverages skilled specialists to scrutinize your claims, making it difficult to counter the rejection. Collecting evidence to support your vocational and medical documents takes skills. You might even miss the strict deadlines, forfeiting your right to benefits.
That is where the legal knowledge of skilled disability appeal attorneys chips in. Paralegals and lawyers specializing in long-term disability claims will listen to your story and provide detailed suggestions about LTD claims and policies. They will review your Hartford denial letter to pinpoint loopholes. These attorneys investigate the letters and analyze the insurance company’s rationale. They will uncover legal errors and inconsistencies.
Disability denial appeal attorneys will challenge the unfitting interpretation of medical records. They query those improperly assessed support materials, enabling the building of a solid case that can overturn the denial in your favor.
2. Calculate the Due Date for the Appeal
Every long-term disability claim has an appeal due date. Missing the deadline can destroy the appeal. The deadline for disability claim appeals depends on the policy type. Most policies require submitting an appeal before 180 days lapse after receiving the denial notice. Employer-sponsored Group Policies (ERISA) offer a 180-day maximum appeal deadline. They usually follow strict federal guidelines under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Individual Disability Insurance Policies have deadlines changing based on the terms of the policy. The deadline begins from 60 to over 180 days. You want to scrutinize your policy documents to know the exact appeal deadline. Understand that missing the deadlines will forfeit your rights to the insurance benefits.
3. Gather and Review Supporting Documents
The Hartford Insurance team is looking for slight mistakes to continue rejecting your long-term disability claim. Sharing information and files containing errors increases the risk of the claim getting rejected. You want to collect medical records, diagnosis, treatment history, and ongoing limitations. Check all the documents to ensure they are accurate and signed by the eligible individuals.
Check the video surveillance and expert reports, ensuring there are no slip-ups. Insurance companies tend to hire private detectives to monitor your activities, and instances of misconduct will lead to claim denial. You will be surprised to note that the insurance company captured all the events and activities recorded between the periods you suffered the injury and when you filed the claim. To avoid disappointments, review the information yourself, uncovering errors and pointing out evidence the insurance firm overlooked.
Secure all statements from healthcare providers to strengthen your appeal. Vocational assessments help to establish whether you can perform your job excellently, detailing how the condition affected your daily life.
4. Compile Everything and File the Administrative Appeal
Compile the data acquired during the review into a solid appeal package for the insurance company. Remember that denial of the appeal several times offers a room to file a lawsuit in the Federal Court. When your case goes to Federal Court, you cannot add or remove any evidence. Ensure the appeal comprises all the medical, legal, and procedural arguments you want to make.
Things to include and confirm include highlights of the data missed by the insurance company in your claim review. Collect and verify data from medical experts and doctors, ensuring they describe the condition. Also, you should provide an accurate job description from a vocational expert or employer.
File all data about long-term disability cases like the ones you have where the claimant got recompensed. You want to provide the opinion of medical experts in case the insurance firm utilized the review of a doctor lacking experience in your medical case.
5. Follow Up Your Case
Hartford Insurance might fail to receive the documents and process the case even after you appeal. You want to follow up to discover whether they received the documents and have started processing the appeal. Following up involves sending an email or making calls to confirm receipt. Ask about the time they will take to make a verdict.
Record all interactions when inquiring about issues and delays. Avoid making multiple appeals by yourself because you might not know what exactly leads to the refusal.
Wrapping Up
You probably received several rejections from Hartford Insurance and want to appeal. You want to understand a long-term disability denial appeal process to avoid more rejections. Consult a qualified disability appeal attorney to assist with the appeal process and ensure you collect all vital documents and materials. You want to review every material to ensure it is accurate and signed by eligible specialists.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
