What If My Insurance Company Wants To Represent Me In My Social Security Disability Claim?
Based on our extensive experience handling long-term disability (LTD) claims, we know that about one third of Social Security disability clients are also either receiving or applying for LTD benefits. Indeed, we have helped many of our Social Security disability clients get their LTD! Many insurance policies require that an LTD claimant also apply for Social Security disability (almost always when the LTD insurance is part of a benefit received from your employer; private LTD policies usually do not include this requirement). Please understand: The only reason they want this is that most LTD policies allow the insurance company to offset Social Security disability benefits from the amount they owe to the claimant. And, on top of that, another experience we have frequently is when the LTD insurance company is insisting that the claimant use the services of a private legal representation company they work with to handle their Social Security disability claim.
LTD companies will make many claims to try to convince you that you are better off with their representative than with one you can choose on your own. Sometimes, they will even imply that you are required to work with their representative, trying to emphasize this point by saying that their representative will not “cost you anything.” Or, they will tell you that their representative “wins 99% of the cases they handle” or similar claims. Finally, sometimes they will tell you that if you hire a private attorney you will end up paying the private attorney’s fees. All these claims are false. You are, of course, free to pick anyone you would like to represent you, including the insurance company’s representative. But consider this before you do.
There is nothing at all wrong with the LTD insurance company requiring repayment from Social Security disability benefits. This is usually a term in the insurance contract. However, consider why they would be so insistent that you hire their representative and even make false claims about how successful their representative is.
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Read more and learn the reasons you shouldn’t allow the insurance company to represent you in your Social Security Disability Claim.