Employment changes can be a stressful time whether it’s your choice or due to termination. Either way, you’ll have to navigate changes in your benefits such as health insurance coverage, retirement savings, and potentially disability insurance benefits.
Illinois does not have a law requiring that employers continue sponsored life insurance, long-term or short-term disability insurance when an employee resigns, is terminated, or is furloughed. However, this doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to continue your coverage.
Our Chicago disability insurance attorneys can answer your questions regarding employer-sponsored disability insurance upon termination of employment.
What are the Possible Outcomes for
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Latest from Bryant Legal Group Blog
How to Approach Claims for Hidden Disabilities
Sufferers of hidden disabilities, or disabilities that are not immediately apparent, can face additional struggles in their insurance claims. An invisible disability like chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia doesn’t show up on an X-ray or MRI but can still have a significant effect on a person’s daily life and ability to earn income.
The insurance system is structured around conditions that are easy to measure, which means that invisible disabilities are harder to prove and harder to argue. However, someone suffering from a hidden disability often still has a valid claim for disability insurance.
Let’s discuss how to strengthen your insurance
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What To Do Before and After an IME Appointment
Independent medical examinations (IMEs) are often less “independent” than the term suggests. Disability insurers work closely with a network of doctors and medical providers whose primary goal is to build a case against claimants so that the insurer doesn’t have to pay out. If an insurance adjuster schedules you for an IME, it’s important that you are prepared.
However, undergoing an IME doesn’t mean you have to lose your benefits. Bryant Legal Group outlines the IME process, discusses some IME doctor tricks, and explains how you can protect your long-term disability claim from a damaging IME report.
What Is an Independent Medical Examination?
Most long-term disability plans will require
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How Can I Get Short- or Long-Term Disability for Knee Pain?
Knee pain can impact every aspect of your life, from your mobility and independence to your ability to work and provide for your family. Whether your condition stems from a sudden injury, chronic degeneration, or major surgery, your knee problems may qualify you for short-term or long-term disability insurance benefits.
At Bryant Legal Group, we help professionals and workers navigate disability insurance claims involving serious knee issues. We can answer common questions about disability for knee pain, outline what conditions may qualify, and explain when it’s time to speak with a disability attorney.
Note: Long-term disability insurance is not the
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Do You Have to Pay Back Long-Term Disability Benefits?
You’re finally receiving the long-term disability (LTD) benefits you deserve. After months or even years of medical appointments, paperwork, and waiting, the insurance company has started paying out. It should be a moment of relief.
But for many claimants, this isn’t the end of the road. In some cases, insurers may demand that you pay back part of the benefits you’ve received. These overpayment demands can be financially and emotionally overwhelming, especially if you weren’t expecting to have to return any money.
Our long-term disability attorneys at Bryant Legal Group have guided many clients through these situations. Whether it’s a
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Going from Short-term Disability to Long-Term Disability
Going from Short-term Disability to Long-term Disability
When you file for short-term disability benefits, it’s usually with the expectation that you’ll recover quickly and return to work. For many people, this turns out to be true. But for others, the road to recovery can be longer and more complex.
Most short-term disability plans only pay monthly benefits for 90-180 days (3-6 months). If medical or life complications keep you away from work for longer, you may need to consider other options like long-term disability (LTD) insurance.
At Bryant Legal Group, we’ve guided many clients through disability coverage and policy
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Is Pain or Disability Making You Consider Retiring from Medical Practice? Here’s Why to Seek Legal Consultation First
After decades of demanding work, many physicians and medical professionals eventually confront an uncomfortable reality: chronic pain, illness, or exhaustion is interfering with their ability to practice.
Whether you’re an orthopedic surgeon with degenerative disc disease, a dermatologist managing long COVID, or a primary care physician grappling with burnout, you may be considering scaling back your hours, selling your practice, or changing what types of treatments and services you can offer.
Before making these significant decisions, you should take one critical step: speak with an experienced disability insurance attorney.
At Bryant Legal Group, we work with physicians and healthcare providers
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Stress and Disability: Can Long-Term Conditions Be Covered?
In today’s high-pressure work environments, white-collar professionals such as executives, consultants, attorneys, and physicians face a unique set of stressors.
Long hours, demanding expectations, and 24/7 connectivity can take a toll on your mental and physical health. Over time, this unrelenting pressure can contribute to life-changing conditions like anxiety, depression, burnout, and even physical ailments such as cardiovascular disease or autoimmune flare-ups.
If you’re struggling with these challenges, you may be wondering whether your long-term disability (LTD) insurance policy can help. The answer is that it might, but the insurance company could put up a fight.
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Doctor Disability Insurance: How to Appeal a Claim Denial
You take out doctor disability insurance so it is there in case you ever need it. Unfortunately, as you might have already experienced with patients’ cases, insurance does not always come through as you expect.
Insurers that issue physician specialty-specific disability policies routinely scrutinize—and too often reject—legitimate claims. When a denial stems from administrative errors, incomplete documentation, or other improper grounds, you are entitled to challenge the decision through a formal appeal.
The terms surrounding doctor disability insurance policies can vary depending on who is providing them and whether they are group or individual coverage. But in every case, it’s
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What to Do if The Standard Denies Your Long-Term Disability Claim
With more than $1 billion worth of in-force premiums as of 2022, Standard Insurance Company—more commonly branded as The Standard—is one of America’s largest providers of long-term disability insurance. Their offerings include employer-provided group plans, as well as individual policies for those who choose to insure themselves.
Insurance giants like The Standard don’t get as large as they are without denying a lot of claims. Unfortunately, those denials are often unfair or in error. Or it could be that claimants failed to provide the correct evidence during the initial application.
Either way, if you believe your long-term disability claim was
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How Much Long-Term Disability Coverage Do I Need?
When we think about financial security, many of us consider health insurance, retirement plans, and emergency savings. One of the most overlooked pieces of the financial puzzle is long-term disability insurance.
If you’re fortunate enough to have group long-term disability (LTD) insurance through your employer, you might assume you’re fully covered. But is it really enough to protect you and your family if the unthinkable happens?
Although you may already have LTD through an employer group plan, certain professionals may wish to purchase additional private coverage. Let’s explore how to determine the right amount of LTD coverage and why supplemental
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How to Appeal a MassMutual Long-Term Disability Claim Denial
The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, MassMutual for short, is one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. They provide long-term disability coverage to individual policyholders, as well as employer-sponsored group plans.
If you have long-term disability coverage through MassMutual and recently had a claim denied, you aren’t alone. Disability denials are commonplace and frequently unfair or unreasonable. Once you file a claim, it’s in the insurance company’s best interest to find some reason to deny it—and often those reasons don’t stand up to scrutiny once all the facts are known.
If you believe you’ve been unfairly denied,
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How to Appeal a MetLife Long-Term Disability Denial
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company—more commonly known as MetLife—is one of the world’s largest financial services companies. While MetLife is typically associated with life insurance and financial services, the company has a robust disability insurance business as well.
If you’ve recently had a long-term disability claim denied by MetLife, we understand how frustrated you might feel. Before you give up and accept MetLife’s decision, you should consult with a disability insurance lawyer at Bryant Legal Group. We have extensive experience with MetLife disability insurance appeals and can help you understand your legal options. Keep reading to learn essential steps you should
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How Much Is My Long-Term Disability Settlement Worth?
Long-term disability (LTD) benefits can be a lifesaver for people who are unable to earn an income due to sickness or injury. If you are not able to work for months or even years at a time, it is a relief to know that you will still be getting a monthly check to help pay for your necessary expenses.
Most LTD plans will pay monthly disability benefits for as long as you remain disabled or otherwise meet the policy’s requirements. However, you may have an alternative option: a long-term disability settlement or buyout. If you go this route, instead of
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How to Appeal a Prudential Long-Term Disability Denial
With nearly $1 billion in in-force premiums, Prudential Financial (via its subsidiary, Prudential Insurance Company of America) is one of the 10 largest providers of long-term disability insurance plans in the United States.
They also, like many large insurers, have a long history of unfairly denying legitimate claims. Courts have had to hold them accountable many times, including a $40 million settlement in 2014 after Prudential denied full death benefits to fallen soldiers’ families. They were also forced to revise their life insurance practices in 2023 after the U.S. Department of Labor found that they had denied hundreds of claims
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Long-Term Disability Insurance and Pre-Existing Conditions: 6 Things You Need to Know
You’ve filed your application for long-term disability (LTD) benefits, carefully providing all the necessary information and submitting all your relevant medical records. When you get the insurance company’s response, you’re shocked to see a denial of benefits. The insurance company found that your disabling conditions were pre-existing (and therefore, not covered by your policy).
At Bryant Legal Group, we’re used to insurance companies broadly interpreting our clients’ medical records and incorrectly applying pre-existing condition exclusions.
Whether you’re purchasing a new disability insurance policy, thinking about filing a claim, or are dealing with an unfair claim denial, here are six
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