Here is a link to the Senate Hearing on Long Term Disability Insurance. Anyone who has a claim or may become disabled should watch this for a brief glimpse into the difficulties associated with obtaining Long Term Disability Benefits.
Senior United States District Court Judge William Acker offered his views on ERISA LTD cases to the Senate. Follow this link to read his views.
The Judge has a number of interesting insights including the overwhelming difficulty faced by most LTD claimaints that is simply built into the system.
As reported by Scott Mulhauser/Erin Shields on the insurancenewsnet.com website.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) will convene a hearing on Tuesday to examine the difficulties workers face in securing benefits they are entitled to from private long-term disability insurance plans. The hearing, entitled "Do Private Long-Term Disability Policies Provide the Protection They Promise?" will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, September 28 in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
At the hearing, Baucus will focus on whether private-sector long-term insurance claims are being unfairly denied or terminated by the companies providing long-term disability insurance covered under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The hearing will also examine how these private insurance companies have handled workers' appeals of denials and terminations. Baucus will raise questions about possible improvements that can be made to ensure claimants and beneficiaries of long-term disability insurance plans covered under ERISA are treated fairly.
Continue reading " SENATE TO EXAMINE DIFFICULTIES WORKERS FACE WITH LONG-TERM DISABILITY CLAIMS " »
In a recent ERISA Long Term Disability case, the Court granted Plaintiff's Motion for summary judgment and ordered Defendant to pay all of Plaintiff's overdue benefits during the "own occupation" period.
In _____________ v The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company LTD Plan, the Honorable George Caram Steeh (E.D. Michigan) confirmed that Defendant had improperly withheld payment of LTD benefits during the Plan's "own occupation" period despite the fact that Defendant had obtained numerous "paper reviews" by its own physicians. The Court ordered Defendant to pay all of the overdue benefits and ordered Defendant to reconsider its decision under the "any occupation" definition of disability.
This case demonstrates the critical importance of determining the correct standard of review.
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