Your long-term disability insurer may deny you in bad faith

When you work in an office or clinic, you may have assumed you would never need LTD insurance because your work isn't usually dangerous. Unfortunately, doctors, attorneys, executives, accountants, architects, writers, orthodontists and other professionals are vulnerable to long-term disability.

Consider what it would mean for your career if you lost your vision or hearing. What if you suffered a traumatic brain injury while biking? Your injury does not have to be work-related for a long-term disability policy to apply.

Now you've suffered a disabling illness or injury that will keep you from working for a long time. You bargained and paid for long-term disability insurance when times were good. Now that you need it, will that LTD claim be paid promptly and fully? Will it be paid at all?

Insurance companies make more money when they limit or deny claims

Insurance policies are contracts. You've paid the often costly premiums and, to the best of your knowledge, you've complied with all the terms. Getting your LTD claim paid ought to be easy.

Unfortunately, insurance companies often fail to live up to their end of the bargain. They may refuse to adhere to the terms of their own contract. They may ignore you. They may deny your claim so quickly that they couldn't have fully considered it. They may delay, delay delay. If they do, they could be acting in bad faith -- which means you have to act.

Here are some common examples of bad faith delay or denial of claims:

• Simply refusing to pay with no sound reason
• Denying your claim without even investigating it
• Finding reasons to cause an unwarranted delay in payment
• Pressuring you to drop your claim
• Using deceptive practices to imply your claim is invalid

Even if you haven't submitted your claim yet, you may want a lawyer

At Steve German, A Law Firm, we are very familiar with bad faith tactics by insurance companies. If you are just beginning to prepare your claim, we want you to feel comfortable reaching out to us for help and advice so we offer a free initial consultation. To set one up, call 602-635-1401.

We will carefully review your policy, make sure you've complied with the terms, and help you prepare and file your claim properly. We will give the insurance company every reason to pay your claim appropriately.

If your claim has been denied and you believe that was wrongful, Steve German has extensive experience both in handling LTD claims and in identifying bad faith situations. We are prepared to fight for your rightful benefits and hold the insurance company accountable when they refuse to hold up their end of the bargain.