The challenges of getting benefits for a self-reported condition

Insurance companies often limit the disability benefits they pay for “self-reported” conditions to two years. However, these conditions often last for far longer than that. This means that people may require medical treatment and be unable to work well past the time when they stop receiving benefits. At DarrasLaw, we work to help our clients get the long-term disability benefits they need as soon as possible for self-reported conditions.

What exactly is a self-reported condition? It can be any number of disabling conditions that a doctor may be unable to verify through testing. These include chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, Lyme disease, lupus and many more painful and debilitating medical problems.

Our attorneys have over 25 years of experience helping people with denied claims and those where the insurer has stopped paying benefits before the condition is resolved. We know what steps to take to try to improve your chances of payment. For example:

— It’s important to have a physician who specializes in your particular condition.

— Your doctor should be willing to work with you to fully document your condition for the insurer, including doing any testing that will help provide the evidence the insurer is seeking.

— You should find out whether your doctor has successfully helped other patients get the insurance benefits they need for this disability.

— Last, but certainly not least, you need to make sure that all of your claims forms are properly completed and that you provide the documentation requested in a timely manner. Problems with insurance paperwork too often cause benefits to be delayed or denied.

The experienced attorneys at DarrasLaw can help you get the long-term disability benefits that you need and deserve. If you are still considering a long-term disability policy or want to determine whether your current policy has a limit on self-reported conditions before you need to use it, we can do a free policy analysis. Call us or contact us to find out how we can help you.