The Hartford provides employee benefits to companies of all sizes, and touts its “industry-leading products made flexible and affordable.” The insurer’s product offerings include life insurance, long-term disability coverage, short-term disability insurance, hospital indemnity insurance, and more.
Unfortunately, The Hartford has received an above-average number of complaints to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and many policyholders have seen their claims get denied for illegitimate and often unfair reasons.
If this happened to you, you have legal rights — but unfortunately, these kinds of claims can be very complicated. You’ll likely want help pursuing justice from an experienced Atlanta long-term disability lawyer, and you can find one at Julie A. Rice Attorneys at Law & Affiliates.
Our firm has extensive experience taking legal action when The Hartford lets policyholders down, and we will bring that knowledge to your claim. Give us a call today to learn more.
Did The Hartford handle your disability benefits claim improperly?
The Hartford has an obligation to act in good faith when processing your disability benefits claim. Unfortunately, the insurer has engaged in many tactics in past disability claims that are aimed at delaying the payment of a legitimate claim or denying payment altogether.
The Hartford may have acted improperly by:
- Making illegitimate and excessive requests for records from medical care providers, or claiming documents were not sent despite them being transmitted.
- Improperly denying your claim despite your disabling condition clearly being covered by your policy
- Sending the wrong payment for your disability benefits claim, despite agreeing to pay a set amount.
- Improperly requesting repayment of insurance funds if you are approved for a Social Security disability claim
The Hartford has a right to investigate your claim and ask for evidence of your disability, but their requests must be reasonably necessary and not just a pretext for dragging out your case or refusing to approve you without reason — and they must have clear justification for any denial.
What can you do if your claim isn’t handled properly?
The specific legal remedies available to you for improper claims handling will depend on whether your policy was a workplace one covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which is a federal law that requires companies administering employee benefits to meet certain specific requirements for responsible and fair dealing.
In general, however, you must be told of the reason for your denial if your claim is not approved, and you must be provided with an opportunity to appeal. This will start with the internal appeals process, and you can follow The Hartford’s guidelines for asking them to reconsider.
If you don’t have success with the internal appeals process, you can escalate your claim to court, where you may have to prove the insurer failed to live up to the insurance contract, was unreasonable in the processing of your claim, or engaged in a bad-faith effort to delay or deny.
Navigating both the internal appeals process and the legal system can become very complicated, though, so you need to get the right legal help during this process.
An Atlanta long-term disability lawyer can help you fight The Hartford
If The Hartford treated you improperly, you should reach out ASAP to Julie A. Rice Attorneys at Law & Affiliates. The insurance company has legal experts on their side, and you need your own advocate.
An Atlanta long-term disability lawyer at our firm will have the knowledge to help you fight for your rights so you can get the money you deserve when you’re disabled, and insurance is supposed to be there to help you, but failed you instead.