There are two different standards by which your case may be judged. The “de novo” standard of review is what you want. “De novo” means “starting anew,” so in the courtroom this means the judges are looking at the original question the insurance company was supposed to answer: does your disability qualify you for benefits [...]
ERISA stands for “The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.” That act covers many employee benefits, one of which is private employer disability insurance policies. There are two types of disability insurance policies, only one of which is governed by ERISA. One type is given to public employees (school teachers, police officers, firefighters, etc.). [...]
In the US alone, Long-Term Care Insurance is estimated to have covered 8 million people. LTCI policies come in many varieties. The language of the policies and the technical requirements for filing a successful claim can be very confusing.The attorneys at Robinson Warncke have a great deal of experience in presenting LTCI claims and in [...]
The Washington Post recently published an article addressing one of the common challenges we face in presenting long term disability claims. Although the article focuses on Social Security disability, the concepts are equally relevant to group long term disability claims under the federal law known as ERISA. Most ERISA-governed long term disability policies contain an [...]
On December 31, 2020, New York Life completed its acquisition of all of Cigna’s group disability, accident, and life insurance business. As a result, your Cigna benefit claims are now administered by “New York Life Group Benefit Solutions.” This change applies even if your Cigna claim was approved, and you have been receiving benefits since [...]
Robinson Warncke Sues MetLife under new ERISA regulations This case confirmed the efficacy of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2018 revisions to ERISA’s “full and fair review” claim regulations. At ERISA’s inception in 1974, Congress charged the DOL with enacting regulations defining how insurance companies must behave to fulfill ERISA’s guarantee of a “full and [...]
Did you know COVID-19 brought as many as 1.2 million additional disability claims in 2021? If you suffer from long-haul COVID, you may have been struggling with your insurance company or considering filing for disability benefits. Insurance companies are working to develop policies they expect will be effective through at least the end of 2022, [...]
Dentists tend to have a much higher incidence of neck and back problems than the general population. Dentists are required to be on their feet for hours, often in non-ergonomic positions, while performing procedures on their patients. This takes a toll on the body over time. Many dentists have the foresight to buy disability insurance [...]
Nearly all long-term disability insurance policies exclude coverage for disabilities caused or contributed to by “pre-existing” conditions. Although the 2014 Affordable Care Act known widely as “Obamacare” now prohibits pre-existing condition exclusions in health insurance policies, it is important to understand that this law does not apply to disability insurance. The legitimate purpose for these [...]
Most of our clients are extraordinarily driven, highly successful professionals and executives. Our clients typically have a great deal of themselves invested in their careers, in terms of education, time and energy. Their very identities are very much tied to their careers. People like this deserve the benefit of the doubt when they say they [...]
