1. Individual Or Group Disability Policies
Whether you are applying through an individually purchased policy or a group policy, these applications take the collaborative efforts of a group of people, including your doctor, co-workers and an accountant. Be prepared to break down your job duties into specific categories and estimate how much time you spend performing all of these tasks.
Insurance companies will work to verify your information and will use these data to begin to determine whether, and how much, benefits you will receive. Insurers may send a field representative to interview you, review your financial information. It is critical you have an attorney present when speaking with a field representative to help ensure that your rights are protected.
It is important to note that insurance companies are not entitled to every piece of information that they request. We will work closely with you to only provide the documentation they are legally required to receive and will prevent the insurer from infringing on your legal rights.
2. Doctors, Dentists And Chiropractors Who Need Disability Benefits
Medical professionals in Atlanta receive a high level of scrutiny when applying for disability benefits. This is largely because they are eligible to receive a large amount of benefits because of their high salaries. Accurately determining the date of the disability is one of the most challenging aspects of these cases. This is especially true for a medical professional suffering from a degenerative condition or a medical condition that they have been working through.
Insurance companies may try to argue that a medical professional is only partially disabled. This may lead to attempts to reduce the amount of benefits paid. Fortunately, our experienced and successful team of attorneys has assisted hundred of physicians, dentists, nurses, surgeons, doctors and chiropractors successfully apply for and obtain long-term disability benefits.
We understand that a disability can quickly threaten our clients’ financial futures. We are, therefore, deeply committed to applying our knowledge, experience and expertise into making sure that these individuals, as well as all of our clients, have the best chance at collecting disability benefits.
3. Business Overhead Policies
We have many clients with business overhead policies (often referred to as BOE policies) and have found that the most challenging issue with this type of policy occurs when the business has been sold or closed for business.
We have created some unique strategies that will allow our clients to capitalize on and maximize benefits of the BOE policy instead of losing those benefits. If a business owner is selling the business due to a long-term disability, the owner should always take into consideration how the BOE benefits may factor into the final sale price of their business.
As with all insurance policies, it is imperative that you seek legal advice from an experienced professional before assuming that any such relationship can exist without a complete understanding of the law and the insurance policy in place. We are happy to speak with you so feel free to call on us to discuss your particular situation at (770) 865-8654.
4. Disability Buyout Policy
This is a type of policy that is purchased with the intent that if one partner becomes disabled, then the other partner(s) can buy out the disabled partner for her or his share of the company. One requirement of these types of policies is that the claimant must be completely disabled for at least 12 months. Additionally, the buyout itself must take place in accordance with the buy-sell agreement that the partners have agreed upon between themselves.
When we have represented clients in this buyout arrangements and policies, the more common issues that we have encountered are:
- The buy-sell agreement is outdated and no longer reflects neither the market value nor the current status of the business
- The business does not have a buy-sell agreement in place, and there is no certainty that one can be implemented
- The buy-sell agreement values the business’s share prices at a price that the disability company does not think is accurate
- The amount of coverage is not adequate
5. Third-Party Administrators
Disability insurers increasingly rely on third-party administrators. This means that the company that sells you the policy will not be the company that determines whether you receive benefits. However, the third party has the same goal as the insurance company: limiting the number of benefits that they pay out to injured workers.
This is why it is so important to level the playing field by working with a highly skilled attorney. Schedule a free consultation with us today to learn about our services. Please contact us at (770) 865-8654 or through our contact form.