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North Carolina Disability Insurance Lawyers

If you have purchased Catastrophic Disability Insurance, or Total Disability Insurance, to cover your income if you cannot work, you may find that upon making a claim, your insurance carrier can utilize many different terms in the policies to deny your claim. Many times these policies can be marketed to you directly by the insurance company, such as Penn Life or The Hartford, or by an insurance broker, such as HealthExtras or many other insurance brokerage firms. In all cases, your disability insurance policy is underwritten, most likely by a large company like AIG, The Hartford, Federal Insurance, and other large insurance companies.

Catastrophic Disability Policies

Recently, we have seen a number of claims denied for Catastrophic Disability Polices. These polices are usually marketed via telemarketing, or by mail inserts with your credit cards. You may have been offered a one million dollar (or $1.5 million in some cases) disability insurance policy for a low monthly premium, or low yearly premium. What is unclear when these insurance policies are marketed to you, is that the definition of total disability is extremely narrow and easy to deny. Some of the definitions we have seen in the past require a person to lose the use of both legs, both arms, the use of one leg and one arm or total sight in both eyes.

Even though legitimate claims are made every day, the insurance companies who write these polices pay a very small fraction of these claims. Some of the polices allow arbitration of the claim which can assist you in moving the claim through the court system quickly. However, many claims have to be litigated in either Federal or State Court. We have experience in all three of these legal venues and can help you if your Catastrophic Disability Insurance, or Total Disability Insurance, claim has been denied.

Long Term Income Disability Insurance

Long Term and Life Time Disability Insurance can be marketed to you in many ways. In the same way, Catastrophic Disability Insurance polices are marketed, you may receive solicitations directly from an insurance company, or from a broker. The offer may be that if you suffer an injury, and cannot perform your job, you will be paid a specific amount per month for the remainder of your life. What is unclear at the outset of these marketing tactics is that there are several different definitions of disability.

Own Occupation Policies

Own Occupation Policies are expensive and cover you if you are disabled from a job that you are performing at the time you purchased the policy. These policies are usually marketed to professionals, like surgeons and engineers, who, if they suffer a physical disability, can no longer perform their specific job duties.

Any Occupation Policies

An Any Occupation Policy claim can be complicated and tricky to collect from your insurance company. Many times the definition of disability in these policies state that if you can perform any job, even though you have suffered a disabling injury, you may not recover benefits.

At the law firm of Hemmings & Stevens, PLLC, we have litigated both types of policies and may be able to help you with your claim. You may call us for a free consultation and evaluation of your case. We represent individuals and families statewide in any city, or county, in North Carolina.

This article regarding Disability Insurance is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. You may need to seek the advice of a Disability Insurance lawyer at the law firm of Hemmings & Stevens, PLLC, that has experience in these matters, to help you, if you have a Disability Insurance case.