Applying for disability benefits with the Standard is a stressful process, especially if you’re not sure whether you’ll be approved. Insurance companies often seem to speak their own language – what steps should claimants (and their attorneys) take to get their long term disability claim approved? Read on to learn some of the tips the disability insurance attorneys at Dell & Schaefer have learned while helping thousands of our clients recover long term disability benefits from Standard.

With more than 20 years of experience helping disabled clients settle claim denials, disability insurance attorneys Greg Dell and Rachel Alters share their expertise in ERISA appeals and resulting lawsuits. Once all administrative remedies have been exhausted in a disability insurance claim denial with The Standard, it’s crucial to understand the next steps forward and how to handle litigation in a court of law.

Disability insurance claimants who have been denied their long-term disability benefits frequently ask whether the insurance company is permitted to deny their benefits based on the opinions of hired physicians who have never even examined them, but have only reviewed their medical records. They ask, how can they possibly know my true condition without examining me? Unfortunately, paper reviews by hired gun doctors are a common practice by disability insurance companies as they tend to get away with this abusive tactic since many courts deem a paper review as reasonable. However, in a recent disability lawsuit against The Standard Insurance Company, the Sixth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals disagreed.
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Language in disability insurance policies can vary from being very favorable for the insured to being so unfavorable that even the severely disabled would have difficulty qualifying for benefits. Most disability policies, for at least some period of time, provide disability benefits in the event that the insured is not able to perform the substantial and material duties of their “own occupation” or “regular occupation”. The definition of “own occupation” can vary depending on the state where the policy is issued and the insurance company that issues the policy. Most people believe that their “own occupation” disability policy insures them in the event that they cannot perform the specific duties of their specific job at their specific employer, however, that is not always the case, and certainly not the case in some group disability policies issued by The Standard Insurance Company.
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Three Plaintiffs have filed separate lawsuits against Standard Insurance Company (Standard) for the wrongful denial of long term disability benefit payments as defined by the terms of their respective Plans. The Plaintiffs filed these lawsuits in the States of South Carolina and Florida (two cases).
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