New York Life Group Long Term Disability Insurance Denials

Why Would New York Life Deny Your Disability Claim?

The Law Office of Justin Frankel regularly represents New York Life long term disability insurance claimants whose ERISA LTD claims have been wrongfully denied or terminated. If you’ve applied for long term disability benefits from New York Life and received a request for more information or an outright denial, you are right to be worried. It may be that your claim has been terminated, which happens quite often.

New York Life examines disability claims to control costs and limit exposure. Your claim is one of millions, processed by software systems and claims adjusters. It costs New York Life nothing to deny a claim. But for policyholders, a denied claim can be a financial catastrophe. We encourage anyone who has filed a claim for individual or group (ERISA) long term disability insurance coverage with New York Life to call our office for a free consultation about your situation. You can call us during normal business hours at 888-583-4959 to speak with an experienced disability attorney. The Law Office of Justin Frankel is located in New York, but we represent claimants nationwide.

What Does It Take to Get a New York Life Long Term Disability Insurance Claim Paid?

New York Life was a big insurance company that got even bigger with the 2021 purchase of CIGNA and LINA. Other big disability insurance companies you may have heard of are Unum, Prudential, Lincoln, and Principal. For all of these companies, managing claims is all about the numbers. For a person who is struggling to keep their life afloat while dealing with a long-term illness or injury that has left them unable to work, fighting a large insurance company is often just too much. A certain amount of claims go unchallenged, and this is calculated in New York Life’s profit and loss calculations. They are counting on people who are disabled giving up or getting tripped up in the appeals process. It’s one of the strategies we see on a regular basis. Having an experienced disability insurance attorney on your side is critical in protecting benefits. Here are some of the other tactics we see used by New York Life and other LTD insurance companies: Appeals are the first step in challenging a denial. Appeals are the critical stage in fighting a denied or terminated long-term disability insurance claim. If one must go to Court, the only documents considered by the Court typically are those already in the claimant’s file (Administrative Record). If you don’t know what documents claims adjusters are looking for, they may not make it into your file. Your doctor’s office is flooded with requests from patients to send information to insurance companies, but they are not disability claim experts. They will not know that a single doctor’s note can doom your claim or give a reason for the claims adjusters to change it from a physician disability to a “mental/nervous” claim, which often serves to limit your benefits to 24 months under a limited benefit period. Whatever records and documents are sent to the insurance company for your claim have to withstand the appeals process as well. The Law Office of Justin Frankel works with claimants to achieve twin goals of getting the disability insurance claim paid in the first go-round, and then being ready to defend you when benefits are denied. Our appeals are designed to win at the appeal level, and developing support for success in event litigation is required. There have been court battles about deadlines falling on a holiday or a weekend. That’s why we encourage people to call us as soon as they receive a denial letter. Time is not on your side. It seems ridiculous that the difference between paying a claim should hinge on whether or not a disability claim was filed before or after a holiday weekend, but this is the level of intensity the insurance companies get to in order to deny paying claims. We are prepared to fight for your claim. If you are concerned about your New York Life disability benefits or are already engaged in a dispute about your policy, we recommend calling our office at 888-583-4959 for a free consultation. There is too much at stake to take on these giant companies on your own.

What Can You Expect if Your Claim is Being Paid?

We often tell people not to get complacent about their disability benefits when they are on claim. Very often, the first two years go relatively smoothly. Benefits are paid without delay, and all seems well. Then, letters arrive asking for an update from your treating physician, or an outright denial arrives, with no advance notice. The letters state that your benefits have been paid based on your “own occupation,” meaning the material tasks and duties of your job. However, most group policies, that is, disability policies paid for by paycheck deductions through your employer, switch to “any occupation” at 24 months. Your disability hasn’t changed, but you are now being told you’re no longer eligible for benefits.

What Should You Do if New York Life Denies Your Disability Claim?

Based on our many years of experience with New York Life, you need to speak with an experienced disability attorney as soon as possible. You can call us at, 888-583-4959. There is no cost for the call, the consultation is free, and you’ll gain a better understanding of your situation from an objective and experienced source.