Disability Claims for Self-employed Professionals

Disability Insurance For Self-employed Workers

Disability insurance policies are obtained by self-employed individuals, including lawyers, doctors, accountants, dentists, and other professionals. These policies are meant to serve as income replacement for those individuals if they suffer an illness or injury and are unable to fulfill the duties of their occupation.

Claims made by self-employed professionals are often heavily questioned and scrutinized by insurance companies due high income and larger benefit amounts provided by the policies. The disability lawyers at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP have the experience and successful track record required to assist you with every aspect of the disability claim process, from filing to fighting a long term disability claim denial.

If your Long-term disability claim is denied by the insurance company, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP can fight in your corner. Insurance companies deny legitimate disability claims with the expectation that most individuals will simply give up instead of fighting for the compensation they are rightfully owed.

Your Rights

It is important to understand that when you buy insurance, you are not buying “peace of mind.” What you are really buying is rights you can enforce against your insurer when they fail to provide you with the protection they sold you.

In most instances, we do not need to sue. We often start off with a demand letter outlining the facts, the law, and our demand that the insurer comply with the terms of the contract. Insurers often know when they are wrong. The problem is that most people are vulnerable because they do not know the law, they do not know what information to give the insurer (or not to give), and they fail to recognize red flags during the claims process. Insurers knows this and, unfortunately, they sometimes take advantage of the situation.

Strict Time Limitations

There are strict time limitations for starting lawsuits against insurers. Most people are unaware of these timelines and often miss them. When you miss a limitation period, the insurer does not have to pay your claim and your right to sue them is taken away.

People generally come to us for one of the following reasons:

• Their claim is taking very long to resolve;
• The adjuster on their file continues to ask for more and more informaton and documentation, some of which may seem irrelevant;
• They are told that their file was transferred to SIU (Special Investigations Unit); or
• Their claim has been denied.

All of these are red flags and if you experience any of these situations, you should immediately consult a lawyer.