News & Resources

In Florida, and throughout the country, mediation of complex insurance disputes (whether a disability insurance dispute, health insurance dispute, or otherwise) is a common strategic option employed to resolve the conflict before litigation.  Through the mediation process, the involved parties — insurer and policyholder — can negotiate a favorable settlement that satisfies their expectations while avoiding the hassles and difficulties typically associated with insurance litigation. Litigation May Be Fraught With Difficulties Litigation can be somewhat […]

Residual disability benefits are common, in Florida and throughout the country — whether in the form of an insurance rider on a total coverage plan, or as a standalone income replacement policy — as a means with which to ensure that the claimant can secure at least some benefits after suffering a disabling event that is not necessarily catastrophic. For example, if you are injured in a car accident, then you may suffer a disability […]

Disability insurance coverage can surprise many policyholders who put too much trust in their insurer to “do right” by them.  All too often, disability insurance policyholders believe that they are well-protected by their private policy, only to find that their insurer is taking steps to avoid or minimize the payout altogether. In many cases, the insurance contract itself includes language that could expose the policyholder to a dispute down the line, when they have actually […]

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) established certain standards for qualifying plans — more specifically, for private employee benefit plans — that are intended to protect employee-claimants from abuse, mismanagement, and various other concerns commonly encountered in the insurance dispute context.  Over the years, ERISA has been expanded quite substantially.  If your insurance plan is governed by ERISA regulation, you may be entitled to notification and the opportunity to appeal an adverse decision relating […]

Oftentimes — in Florida and elsewhere — insurers will deny otherwise legitimate claims due to the coverage having lapsed.  Insurance coverage will lapse when the claimant has failed to make a premium payment before the applicable due date.  This applies to all types of insurance coverage, from disability insurance to health insurance to property insurance, and more.  If the coverage lapsed before the events giving rise to the claim (i.e., an accident that renders you […]

Disability claimants may be surprised to find that — despite the fact that they have never lapsed on insurance payments and are submitting a reasonable disability benefits claim — the insurer response is unaccommodating.  Disability insurers employ a number of questionable tactics in order to force the claimant into a vulnerable position.  For example, if you have been rendered permanently disabled due to a degenerative condition, the insurer may deny your claim, delay your claim, […]

In 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted, thus creating new standards governing private employee benefit plans — such as employer-sponsored disability, health, and welfare insurance, among other plans.  In Florida and elsewhere, ERISA does not require that employers purchase private insurance coverage for their employees, but it does impose a stricter set of rules on such plans so that employee-policyholders are protected from the potential abuses of plan administrators and others. […]

Most businesses in Florida and elsewhere purchase some form of commercial general liability (CGL) insurance coverage so as to avoid the potentially disruptive effect of a personal injury lawsuit brought against the business. For example, a small retail business with few assets may only have enough funds to cover costs — if a customer slips-and-falls on the premises, and thus severely injures themselves, then the ensuing lawsuit could seriously disrupt (and even bankrupt) the business. […]

Oftentimes, insurance policyholders who are already receiving benefits (or who intend to submit an application for benefits) are concerned about how their qualification for such benefits will be influenced by their success in litigation.  This is a reasonable concern, of course — it seems sensible that one’s disability benefits may be affected by their receipt of hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions of dollars in damages from the liable defendant in a personal […]

In Florida, and throughout the country, whether you receive disability benefits — and the benefits amount that you are awarded by your insurer — depends largely on the disabling condition at-issue and the provisions of insurance policy.  As policies can vary quite substantially, you and your attorney will have to closely evaluate the language of your insurance agreement in order to determine the benefits to which you’re entitled. Generally speaking, the disability benefits calculation begins […]