Welcome To Reality – Again…
If I had just $1 for all of the articles I’ve written concerning “proof of claim”, claim decision-making, and who makes claims decisions I would indeed be a very wealthy woman by now. Although in the past I’ve hinted, danced around, and walked...
Guardianship Of Insurance Agency
Recently, the ethics of insurance “agency” came into discussion when a sales agent of Guardian suggested he intervene in the decision-making process in order to “assist” an insured he sold a policy to obtain an approval decision. While...
Disability Insurance COVID-19 Operations In A Rut
Disability insurers generally have their internal claims review processes down to a science. Not only does management have daily access to statistics, financial reserves, and unit operational numbers, CEOs and VPs can tell you minute details round the clock. You...
An Update On FMS Disability Claims
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Claims have long been a source of denial by most American insurers. When I was a claims hander those diagnosed with FMS were treated with morphine pumps and yet today patients are expected to “get up on a treadmill” and...
Unum Update 4/23/2020
Information recently received by attorneys indicates Unum is not overturning denials on appeal. Despite the fact that Unum seems to be “patient and understanding” during the COVID-19 lockdown, the company is still not overturning unfair denials. As a...
Helpful Tips – 4/22/2020
Pre-dated Letters DCS was recently contacted by more than one claimant/insured informing they are receiving letters dated in the past they are only receiving now. Requests for updated information ultimately have “short deadlines” because letters...
Procrastination Could Be A Deal Breaker For IDI Insureds
Lately, I’ve been contacted by IDI insureds who want to file for disability using a date of disability in the distant past, somewhere between 3-10 years ago. Therefore, it’s important for me to share information that suggests such late filings may prove...
Something To Smile About
(Thank you to one of my clients who emailed this to me today. Hope everyone is safe and healthy.) A lady from Pebble Creek wrote this on the Nextdoor posting, enjoy! Half of us are going to come out of this quarantine as amazing cooks. The other half will come out...
Disability Claim Misinformation
From my perspective it often seems as though the public perception of disability insurance hasn’t changed since I first started writing a column in Jim Mooney’s “Inside UnumProvident” Newsletter in 2001. At that time in the midst of the Unum...
DCS Carrot And Stick Awards
Although Unum has taken the high road on working through the national pandemic, the company still remains the most egregious insurance company in the U.S. Information reported to me is that Unum is chasing denied claimants for retroactive SSDI overpayments and...
One More Time……..
Over the last twenty or so years I have been writing articles cautioning claimants and insureds from speaking directly on the phone to claims representatives. Unfortunately, I repeatedly get calls from insureds telling me they are speaking with insurance companies on...
Attorneys Are Not Experts In Claims Management!
Over the years I’ve heard, or have been provided with enough misguided advice from attorneys fill volumes. Not surprisingly, some of the inaccurate information involving disability claims management came from attorneys. Due to the fact that the topic of...
The Insurance Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
As we all know it has been quite a realignment change ,,to manage disability claims during these challenging times. The last two weeks I’ve spent most of my time communicating with insurers concerning insureds’ inability to submit forms and other...
COVID-19 Comments
Please see the link at the top of this Home Page. If you have anything you want to say (anonymously), or update us with the situation in your state, please send me an email and I will add it to this page. I think it’s great that people want to share, and stay...
Revisiting Unum’s History – Take A Moment To Read – First Published 2015
PROLOGUE It was told to me very early on that a person’s importance as an Unum employee was indicated by the size of his/her office, and whether or not they were allowed to have a table, one or two chairs and in particular, a vase. This fact was indeed verified...
Insurers Not Functioning Well
I am writing this article to re-emphasize that although insureds are scared and are, in some cases, demanding that the claims process move forward as usual, everyone seems to be biting at the same pickle, including insurers. The United States has not had to go through...
Unum Cautions Against Filing Disability Claims On Phone Menu
I had an opportunity to call a Unum claims handler today and was surprised to listen to a recorded message advising those who want to file claims to discuss it with their employers first. This is consistent with the view that Unum, in particular, will be denying...
MetLife And The Hartford Threatening Insureds During Lock-Down Pandemic
Although I’ve been reporting that most insurance companies are flexible with deadlines, I probably spoke too soon. Today, I’ve reviewed information that suggests both The Hartford and MetLife in particular are still sending out threatening letters with...
COVID-19 Stimulus And Other Important Information – A Must Read
DCS, Inc. has been receiving many calls and emails concerning whether or not the federal stimulus recovery checks will be an “offset” from disability benefits. As always, to ensure accuracy I made inquiries to a few prominent attorneys to solicit their...
Third-Party Paper Chasers – A Conglomerate of Inefficiency
As most of my readers are aware (hopefully…), disability insurers have outsourced most of the functions required to investigate claims, including medical and occupational review, financial review, and “paper chasing.” Notable companies are PMSI,...
