Appealing a Denial of Disability Benefits from Liberty Mutual

If your employer offers group disability insurance from Liberty Mutual, choosing it may help you to protect yourself in the event that you suffer from a disabling condition at some point during your career with your company. Disability insurance replaces a portion of your former income while you are unable to work after you have exhausted an elimination period. Unfortunately, Liberty Mutual sometimes denies valid disability claims. The experienced team at Osterhout Berger Disability Law helps clients to appeal their denials of their claims from Liberty Mutual.

Background on Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company employs more than 50,000 people, brings in average annual revenues of $38.5 billion, and operates worldwide.

What is Liberty Mutual insurance?

Liberty Mutual insurance includes a broad array of products, such as automobile, health, life, workers’ compensation, surety, fire and disability insurance.

Disability insurance from Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual offers group disability insurance policies to workers through payroll deductions. Workers may choose short-term disability coverage, long-term disability coverage or both. After you exhaust your elimination period, you should begin receiving your short-term disability benefits. If you then exhaust those benefits, your long-term benefits should start as long as you have both types of coverage. The benefits provide you with a percentage of your income for the specified time periods listed in your policy.

Liberty Mutual short-term disability

If your employer offers short-term disability through Liberty Insurance, you may be entitled to collecting benefits for up to 13-24 weeks, depending on what your policy states, if you find yourself in a situation that prohibits you from returning to work during that time frame. There are typically stipulations around what insurance companies consider to be a qualifying disability. You’ll also have to submit proof of disability by signing a medical authorization form when you file your claim so that your medical records can be released to Liberty Mutual. If your disability requires you to be out of work longer than 24 weeks, you may have to switch to long-term disability insurance to continue collecting the benefits. Make sure to read Liberty Mutual’s short-term disability policy to ensure that you understand everything that you’re entitled to collecting. If there are any delays with your claim, be sure to seek help from a disability lawyer.

Liberty Mutual long-term disability

The benefits of long-term disability insurance go beyond 24 weeks. Similar to Liberty Mutual’s short-term disability plan, there may be certain specifications around what’s considered a disability. You’ll also have to show proof of the disability in order to qualify for the benefits. There may be a six month waiting period before your long-term disability benefits kick in. If you’re unsure as to how Liberty Mutual’s long-term disability works, refer to your policy for specifics.

What you need to know about Liberty Mutual claims

Liberty Mutual claims that they will “deliver timely service when it’s needed the most”, but their track record proves a different story. There are plenty of cases where Liberty Mutual delayed or denied claims, which affected policyholders from getting the benefits they needed and deserved. By following the progress of your claim closely, you may be able to ensure that it doesn’t get delayed or denied due to Liberty Mutual’s inefficiencies.

How do I submit a claim to Liberty Mutual?

Liberty Mutual has a portal where you can submit your disability claim. You’ll need to have your company code readily available in order to register as a new user to the portal. There should be a section that houses all the forms you’ll need to submit your claim. There’s also an option to fax in the proper forms if you’re not comfortable using the website. The most important documents to submit are your medical records as this provides proof of disability. Once you submit the actual claim, you’ll have 30 days from the file date to submit your medical records.

What do I do if Liberty Mutual delays my claim?

If your claim is delayed by Liberty Mutual, it’s important to understand what’s causing the delay. If your medical records are causing the delay, be sure to follow up with your doctor’s office to ensure that they submit your records to Liberty Mutual. If you’re unsure as to where the delay is or you’re not getting a clear answer from Liberty Mutual, you may want to contact one of our disability lawyers to investigate what’s causing the delay.

What do I do if Liberty Mutual denies my claim?

The first step you’ll want to take after receiving a denial letter from Liberty Mutual is to file an appeal. While it’s possible for you to do this on your own, many have found comfort in having the help of disability lawyers who have experience in disability law. Either way, it’s important to understand the process of appealing a denial from Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Appealing a denial from Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual often denies claims for disability benefits. If you are denied, you will receive a notification by postal mail. Your notice will list the reasons that Liberty Mutual has used to deny your claim. It will also contain information about the company’s appeals process. It is important that you pay attention to the listed deadline for filing your appeal. Because group disability insurance policies fall under the ERISA laws, you are required to appeal a denial within the company prior to filing a lawsuit in court. You should take care to follow the deadline because if you miss it, you will not be able to recover your benefits.

After receiving your denial notice, contact Liberty Mutual and ask the company to provide you with your entire claim file. It will include all of the evidence that Liberty Mutual used to deny you. Bring your file and your notice to the experienced disability team at Osterhout Berger Disability Law. Our attorneys can review the information in order to determine the best way to proceed.

How Osterhout Berger Disability Law can Help

Your knowledgeable disability lawyer might advise you to continue seeing your doctor and to submit to additional tests and evaluations. This is to help your claim by building additional evidence that is favorable to you to add to your file. By doing so, your attorney may help you to build a stronger claim so that you may be likelier to win your internal appeal. If your appeals are exhausted within the company and you have to file a lawsuit, you will only be able to rely on whatever information is contained in your file. It makes sense to make certain that your file contains as much positive information about the validity of your disability claim as possible.

It is important that you are completely honest about your symptoms and their severity with your attorney and your doctor. If you try to exaggerate, Liberty Mutual may use that as evidence that you are malingering. Try to keep your oral communications with the company to a minimum and insist that everything is sent to you in writing. It is possible to win an appeal of a denial of disability benefits from Liberty Mutual. Contact Osterhout Berger Disability Law today for help with your appeal.