News & Resources

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

Generally speaking, in Florida and throughout the country, disability insurers will utilize whatever means necessary — whether you have short-term disability insurance coverage or long-term disability insurance coverage — to undervalue a policyholder’s claim, or to otherwise avoid having to payout the claim altogether.  Insurers rely on the fact that many policyholders are unwilling to challenge their decision, even if their decision is not justified by the evidence. If you’ve had a legitimate disability claim […]

In Florida (and throughout the country), disability insurance policyholders must take special care not to post potentially compromising text, photos, and videos to their various social media accounts.  Insurance companies are increasingly making use of evidence that their investigation teams dredge up on social media accounts to undermine policyholder claims and thereby justify a denial. Insurers Have Always Investigated Inconsistencies Disability insurers have a long history of using privacy-invasive tactics in order to investigate potential […]

In Florida, as is the case in other states, recipients of disability benefits — whether through private disability insurance or through a public program like SSDI — must reasonably follow the treatment plans required by their physicians, and must regularly update their insurer as to their condition.  Failure to do so could result in a loss of benefits (through premature termination of benefits), or a reassessment of disability benefits that reduces the amount you receive […]

In Florida, as in other states, there are a variety of private insurance plans for disability coverage, each with their own respective terms and provisions relating to such disability coverage.  If you are suffering from an injury or other health condition that has rendered you disabled (partial or full), however, then you may find that your insurer — despite having provided you “comprehensive” coverage — has wrongfully denied benefits to you on the basis that […]

Depending on your insurance coverage, you may be eligible to submit an insurance claim for either total or partial disability.  Too often, however, insurers wrongfully deny, delay, or undervalue disabled policyholders’ claims so as to minimize their liabilities.  In the disability insurance context, for example, an insurer might define your disability as merely partial, when in fact the disability is totally debilitating with respect to your ability to work and earn a living.  If your […]