Are You Ready For 2021? – Designing A Successful Game Plan For The New Year
The following are the most common reasons why a group long-term disability claim may be denied by any disability insurer. You aren’t eligible. There are many “eligibility” criteria which must be met in order to meet the provisions of your Plan–you must be in an...
A New Year – A New Mindset
Happy New Year to all readers of Lindanee’s Blog! While DCS, Inc. had a great year in terms of successfully managing claims with continued benefits for the majority of clients, a new outlook moving into 2021 indicates successful claims can be achieved by...
What’s In Store For DCS, Inc. For 2021?
This year has been an extraordinary year for DCS, Inc. and clients. Despite changes in the claims processing procedures of insurers, and an alleged national pandemic, we were able to increase our success rate to 99%, meaning the majority of clients coming on board in...
2020 Recap And Future Outlook for 2021 – Editorial by Linda Nee
Here we are on the precipice of Christmas and a new year, 2021. The year 2020 was indeed a challenge with COVID and the uncertainty that went along with it. From a private disability perspective, many of the internal COVID procedure changes had already been taking...
The Dangers Of Website Portals And Why You Actually Go There
Several years ago, most insurers designed online “website portals” as a solution to communicating with insureds by email/onliine while exercising some sort of privacy tags acceptable to HIPAA. While the idea seemed efficient at the time, website portals...
Are Readers Listening, Or Am I Just A Broken Record?
Several days ago I posted an article about doc-to-doc calls, which is a very important topic for all claimants to consider. I was informed of yet another Unum doc-to-doc call that may not work out well for a claimant because the physician refused to abide by the...
Aristocracy And Using “Self-Blame” To Deny Claims
An issue was brought up with one of my clients last week that reminded me of a topic I don’t think I’ve ever written about. Lloyd’s of London, the ultimate EU royalty insurance company, takes a dim view of obesity, pregnancy, smoking, and in some...
Urgent! Nix To Doc-to-Doc Calls….What Are You Thinking?
The issue of doc-to-doc calls is something I’ve been writing about for over 20 years, including recently in an article about end-of-year unfair claims practices. Still, I’m getting phone calls from non-clients and clients telling me their physicians are...
Reminder – Late Checks Normal For Unum During Holidays
Just wanted to remind everyone that we are coming up on the Christmas holiday season when Unum is known for late benefit checks. Therefore, there is no reason to panic claims have been denied if benefit checks aren’t on time around the holidays. This is the only...
Friday Q & A
I have a Lloyd’s of London disability claim that is taking more than 6 months to do a review. Is this normal for this insurer? Lloyd’s of London insurance is generally considered the “kingship” of disability products that also hefts a large...
The Christmas Grinch – How Insurers Steal Christmas – Sunday Editorial by Linda Nee
While there are so many disability “issues” brewing for year-end 2020, I decided to write my usual Sunday Editorial about investigative actions taken by insureds that potentially can cause claims to be denied for year end profitability. While some of the...
Oops! That “Fear” Is Back………..
Although there must be at least twenty or more articles on this blog about the negative effects of “fear” in managing disability claims, I’m hearing more and more from insureds who are again finding themselves in paranoia mode asking me if they...
Reminder – Hungry Vulture Year-End Profitability
We are within 6 weeks of year-end profitability and it is important for insureds and claimants to be aware of claim vulnerability until the end of December. Unum is already enforcing unreasonable deadlines even though the aftermath of COVID physician lockdowns is...
“Claimify” – The New “Lucens” Company Chasing SSDI Files
Apparently, Lucens, the third-party SSDI paper chaser has changed its name to Claimify and is sending out requests for signed SSA Authorizations to obtain financial data. This issue recently emerged as we approach year-end profitability tallies with Unum (and I assume...
Truth vs. Perception In Managing Disability Claims A Sunday Editorial By Linda Nee
When inureds ask me, “How can my insurance company deny me when my physician says I can’t work?”, I always think of the explanation of the difference between “truth and perception.” Disability insurance companies ALWAYS operate off of...
What To Put In the Record In Your Own Defense
I know there are a lot of insureds out there who seem to think they have to “do what they’re told” even when requests from their insurers are unreasonable and unfair. However, people should learn to draw the line somewhere and be able to...
News Updates
Forget About Timelines Insureds are still expecting Unum to respond in timely ways, when it’s obvious the company is too remotely disconnected without much leadership. I receive many emails from clients and non-clients alike expressing, “I haven’t...
Empower Yourselves For Future Success by Linda Nee
While I don’t think anyone would describe me as a feminist, I believe in the power of the individual to overcome life’s challenges and be able to control one’s path as free and independent persons. Unfortunately, the process of living...
Doc-to-Doc Calls – A Claim “No-No”
Originally, conversations between insurance and treating physicians wasn’t such a bad thing. However, the temptation to strategize outcomes in favor of insurers ruined what could have been a valuable “consensus-seeking” activity. The goal of a...
A Q & A About COVID
Do TeleHealth meetings with my doctor count for disability purposes? Yes, they do. Physicians are keeping patient notes of TeleHealth meetings whether internally or managing patient visits through “My Chart”, a national software program that collects all...
