4 Ways You Can Avoid A Rejected ERISA Claim
Suffering from a disability can be a stressful experience, especially if you may have to stop working and are wondering how you will be able to get the money to pay your daily expenses. However, you might be able to get benefits from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan that your current employer has. In order to receive those benefits and avoid being rejected, you need to keep some things in mind. Here are some ways you can avoid rejected ERISA disability claims.
Find Out about Deadlines and Waiting Periods
There may be a deadline in place for you to file your disability claim, so you need to start the process as soon as you know that you are no longer able to do the work you were hired to do. It is also important to be aware that your job may require you to adhere to a waiting period before you claim. You may have to be transferred to another department where you can continue to work in another capacity, or you may need to exhaust your personal time and sick days before you can file an ERISA claim. To be sure about what deadlines and waiting periods are in place, talk with a lawyer, like Iler and Iler.
Talk Directly to the Insurance Company
While it may seem natural to talk to your immediate supervisor and the human resources department at your company, the insurance carrier is the entity that will approve or reject your ERISA claim. You need to speak directly to them in order to increase your chances of having your claim approved. When you speak directly to the insurance carrier, you can avoid getting incorrect information and resolve misunderstandings more easily.
Ask Your Doctor for Help
The insurance company will require certain documentation regarding your disability, and will give you some papers to be filled out. However, these documents are not the only proof you can provide. Tell your doctor that you are seeking ERISA benefits and ask them to give you additional records and documentation about your health condition. In particular, ask about any information they can give the insurance company about specific activities you are able to do in a work environment.
Watch Out for Private Investigators
Your company's insurance carrier will look for every opportunity to ensure that you are being truthful about your disability before approving your claim. They might even enlist the help of private investigators to check on you. These investigators might seek out your social media profiles looking to find pictures of you doing things you claim to be unable to do. They may follow you from place to place or sit outside near your home, hoping to catch you lifting heavy grocery bags or doing lawn work so they can disprove your claim of disability.
That's why it's so important for you to listen to your doctor's orders and avoid doing anything that could be seen as questionable. Make sure your social media profiles are private and keep an eye out for any strangers in your environment.
Use the information in this article to help you avoid a rejected ERISA claim. To avoid any mistakes that could get your claim rejected, be sure you are working with a lawyer that understands these kinds of claims and can get you the benefits you deserve.
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