Any property and casualty insurance company doing business in Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina is already totaling up the staggering losses of property and lives following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The double punch to the southeastern states is expected to cost more than $200 billion in economic losses, and those are early estimates according to a recent article in The New York Times.
What does that have to do with Harford Insurance and its disability insurance claims?
Plenty, and it is not good for claimants with Hartford claims.
Hartford is one of the few large insurance companies doing business in property and casualty insurance as well as disability insurance in South Carolina and North Carolina. While many claims in these states will be flood insurance, many will also be making claims against their homeowners’ insurance or car insurance. Whether or not those claims will be paid is one part of the problem. How hard Hartford will begin to push back against long term disability insurance claims is another.
When one aspect of their business suffers (COVID was a prime example with excess life insurance claims), companies get more aggressive with long term disability insurance claims.
Jason Newfield has seen this happen before.
“Anytime there has been a natural disaster followed by a large number of insurance claims by companies in the property and casualty space, the impact ripples across the insurance company,” explained disability insurance attorney Jason Newfield. “Shareholders are watching the stock price as the companies’ exposure is detrimental to the bottom line. Hartford’s CEO, Christopher Swift, likes to talk about ‘loss ratios.’ I’m less concerned about Hartford’s loss ratios than I am about the people who were sold disability insurance policies and now are likely to be denied because of the losses from these storms.”
The expected rush on claim terminations to make up for the huge losses in its P&C business will be detrimental to claimants with long term disability insurance claims, often group benefit (ERISA) claims.
Newfield recommends anyone with a Hartford disability insurance claim who has filed a short or long term disability claim in the last two months to be prepared for their claim to be denied outright or challenged. People already on claim with Hartford also need to be prepared for their claims to be either terminated or for renewed challenges to their claims, as the company deals with an onslaught of homeowner’s claims.
What else can Hartford disability insurance claimants do?
If you have had the claim denied or terminated, review the denial/termination letter and call our office immediately. Don’t wait, as you are going to be one of many people facing the same situation. We offer a free consultation and we are ready to speak with you. There are often strict deadlines.
Make sure your claim documents are in order. You may need to file an appeal of the adverse decision. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is something you can do on your own. Appeals from group ERISA policies are limited to materials in your claims file and the insurance company is the entity making the decision on your appeal. If you do not know how to submit information, or what new information you need to provide, you may risk losing your right to ever collect disability benefits. Call the office and speak directly with Jason Newfield.
Document every communication with Hartford. For every phone call, write down the date and time the call took place, who you spoke with, what they told you and ask for their direct phone number, name, and title. Make them repeat what they told you. Save and print any emails also. If Hartford representatives try to contact you in any other way, document the interaction so that your version of events is well documented with evidence.
Be careful about activities outside of the home. You may be going for a walk once a month, but if you are videotaped taking a walk, Hartford may seek to mischaracterize your walk or exercise as proof you are not really disabled. Keep a record of your appointments so you can prove your activity is for medical reasons.
Stay off social media. If you are out and about and posting your activities, you can expect your posts to be used as proof of your ability to be active. If your claim concerns mental/nervous disabilities and your social media accounts show you with an active social life, expect your claim to be challenged.
An experienced long term disability attorney will be able to advise you on how to go about protecting your Hartford claim, even when the company is preparing for a major financial loss because of claims from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
