Appealing a Denial of Disability Benefits from Monarch Life Insurance

If you have a disability insurance policy from Monarch Life Insurance and have kept up with your payments, you should be able to receive disability benefits if you suffer from a disabling condition and are unable to return to work. It is not uncommon for claimants to be denied when they file for disability benefits from Monarch. If you are denied, the experienced disability lawyers at Osterhout Berger Disability Law may help you with your appeal.

Background on Monarch Life Insurance

Domiciled in Massachusetts, Monarch Life Insurance was previously owned by Monarch Capital Corporation. It has been in rehabilitation since 1994 and ceased selling its disability insurance products in 1993. The company remains in receivership, but it is still possible for people who have kept up with their premium payments to receive disability benefits if they suffer disabling conditions that prevent them from working.

Disability insurance from Monarch Life Insurance

Monarch Life Insurance offered two types of disability insurance to employees through their employers. Employees could choose short-term disability coverage, long-term disability coverage or both. Even though the company is in receivership, workers who have kept paying their premiums may still recover disability benefits if they become disabled. The benefits may be available for various lengths of time depending on the terms of your policy.

Short-term disability from Monarch Life Insurance

Most short-term disability insurance plans will pay a percentage of your income on a weekly basis for a set amount of time. The percentages and duration of benefits often vary from plan to plan and are established by the employer and insurance company. If you elected to receive short-term disability insurance from Monarch Life Insurance through your employer when the product was actively being offered, you should check your policy to learn about the specifics of your policy. Some items to look for in the policy include the percentage of your income that will be covered on a weekly basis, how long your benefits will paid out, how long you’ll have to wait until you can receive your benefits (often called an elimination period), and what Monarch Life Insurance defines a disability to be. This last one is extremely important as some conditions may considered pre-existing and won’t be covered under a disability plan offered by this insurance company.

Long-term disability from Monarch Life Insurance

Long-term disability insurance works almost the same way as short-term disability insurance. There are some differences, which includes the percentage of income that’s covered, the duration of benefits, and the length of the elimination period. Another difference is that you’ll get paid on a monthly basis with long-term disability insurance rather than on a weekly basis like you would with short-term disability insurance. Other than that, both policies should be structured the same. You’ll still want to read your policy carefully to understand the specifics. If you don’t have a copy of your policy with you, ask your employer to provide you with a copy.

What you need to know about Monarch Life Insurance disability claims

Since Monarch Life Insurance stopped selling disability insurance in 1993, it may be difficult to file a disability claim today. However, many people still have disability insurance policies with Monarch Life Insurance and the company should still be paying out benefits to those who have continued paying their premiums. If you’re one of these individuals, you can call the insurance company or you can call Massachusetts Division of Insurance to submit your claim. However, you may want to consider consulting an experienced disability lawyer to help through the claims process since this company isn’t actively working on disability insurance claims.

How to submit a disability claim to Monarch Life Insurance

If you need to file a disability claim to Monarch Life Insurance, you’ll need to call the insurance company or Massachusetts Division of Insurance. They’ll need to send you the forms required to submit a claim and should give you instructions on how to return them. These forms will have three sections: the employee’s statement, the employer’s statement, and the attending physician’s statement. There may be authorization forms that require your signature. Make sure that you fill out every section and that the other sections are filled out completely. If not, this will cause your benefits to be delayed or denied.

What to do if Monarch delays your disability claim

If you believe that your disability claim is being delayed, you’ll want to reach back out to whomever you called to get the claim forms and ask about the status of your claim. If you don’t get a straight answer or get asked to submit additional paperwork, you may want to consider asking an experienced disability lawyer to intervene on your behalf. Our experienced lawyers at Osterhout Berger Disability Law can help move the process along so that you can get your benefits sooner rather than later.

What to do if Monarch denies your disability claim

You will be notified by postal mail if your disability claim is denied from Monarch Life Insurance. If you are denied, your letter will tell you why and will also inform you about the process of appealing. You must file your appeal within the deadline that is listed in your letter, or you will be permanently barred from trying to recover your benefits in the future. It is important for you to ask for a copy of your file because it will have all of the information that was used to deny your claim.

Appealing a denial from Monarch Life Insurance

When you receive your file, bring your letter and the file into Osterhout Berger Disability Law. Your experienced disability lawyer will analyze the information and advise you about the appropriate course of action. He or she might want you to get additional medical or functional tests, submit to evaluations or secure letters and statements from your doctor, family members and employer about how your condition limits your ability to function. The reason why your knowledgeable lawyer might ask you to do these things is to make your claim stronger. When you add more evidence that supports the validity of your claim to your file, you are likelier to win your appeal without having to file a lawsuit.

When you are working with your disability attorney, it is important that you follow the advice that you are given and always remain honest about your condition. Some claimants make the mistake of exaggerating their symptoms. When their medical exams don’t support the claimed severity of the symptoms, they may be viewed as malingering. This makes it much more difficult to win an appeal of a disability benefits denial as it is viewed as evidence against the validity of a claim.

While you may be overwhelmed by receiving a denial of your disability benefits, it is possible for you to win your claim on appeal. By getting the help of the experienced team at Osterhout Berger Disability Law, you may improve your chances of succeeding on your appeal. Contact Osterhout Berger Disability Law today to schedule your consultation with one of our experienced disability attorneys so that you can learn more about your potential recovery rights for your Monarch Life Insurance disability claim.