Frank Darras of DarrasLaw Pens Open Letter to President Donald J. Trump Proposing 90-Day Stay on Insurance Deadlines

Dear President Trump,

Thank you for all you are doing and have done to protect us from COVID-19.

I am concerned and ask for your help in addressing the mounting legal nightmare for medical, life, long term care, disability, insurance companies and their policyholders during the Coronavirus.

The industry, and those of us who serve the sick and disabled, will very soon lose our ability to properly and timely meet the growing avalanche of medical, disability and long-term care claim needs. Insurance companies will be stretched to their claim limits providing policyholder assistance and dutifully paying mounting claims. All the while, their insureds try to get the much-needed emergent care and must face unforgiving claim and litigation filing and prosecution deadlines.

As the founder of DarrasLaw, America’s largest long-term disability and long-term care litigation firm, we represent insurance policyholders nationwide and look at over 2500 denials a month- even before the current pandemic.

I am gravely concerned that policyholders will be unable to meet the strict and unrelenting statute deadlines, insurance company proof of loss provisions, timely appealing wrongful delay or denials administratively and meeting statute of limitation filing requirements in state and federal courts.

Currently, if the sick or disabled fail to file time-sensitive claim information, fail to timely file their administrative appeals, fail to properly and timely file their state/federal lawsuit to seek their insurance benefits or meet current litigation discovery and appellate requirements- their benefits will be forever lost.

Mr President, these policyholders have fought to protect our country, they are grandmothers and grandfathers, moms and dads, beloved family members. Each have paid rich premiums to receive their insurance benefits when they medically become disabled or needed long term care assistance. How will our sickest and most vulnerable Americans meet critical insurance company filing deadlines when they are too ill to shop for food and need expensive prescription medication?

Unfortunately, right now there is no legal forgiveness, no exceptions, nor any legal mechanism to halt legal deadlines without a moratorium or a stay on currently filed state/federal health, life, disability and long-term care cases, approaching statute of limitations or insurance company proof of loss requirements and time sensitive administrative appeals.

We need a 90-day moratorium or stay.

Ninety days is enough time to pause, allow policyholders time to get the proper care and treatment, then submit or have family, friends or their counsel file their insurance documentation, file their administrative appeals or their lawsuit, or proceed with their current litigation.

All of us are impacted by COVID-19. All of us could use a little COVID kindness. All of us, whether presenting a claim, litigating, appealing or meeting proof of loss or administrative appeal filings or for the insurance company processing and paying a valid claim need time beyond our current legal landscape. Toll the insurance claim deadlines for health, disability and long-term care, stay applicable state/federal statutes, halt current state and federal discovery, motions, trials and appeals in insurance medical, life, disability and long-term care cases.

Please begin the moratorium April 1st, as we are told the worst is yet to come.

The sick and disabled need our help and assistance now. Insured’s need their policy benefits for food, to pay for their prescriptions, medical care and co-pays/hospital bills.

Unforgiving claim requirements, filing deadlines and cases currently in litigation are ticking time bombs and need our immediate attention.

Mr President, America needs some COVID kindness with a 90 stay on current health, life, disability cases in litigation in state/federal court. In addition, we need the same 90 stay or moratorium to submit claim documentation, meet insurance company proof of loss requirements, timely and properly administratively appeal delays or denials and to file state/ federal medical, life, disability and long-term care cases.

Mr President, will you please help?

On behalf of the sick and disabled across America,

Frank N. Darras

Founding Partner, DarrasLaw