If your employer offers optional disability insurance coverage from Lincoln Financial as part of your benefits package, choosing it may offer you an important financial safety net. This type of coverage replaces a percentage of your regular salary if you suffer an injury or illness that prevents you from returning to your job either temporarily or permanently. To receive your benefits, you will have to exhaust the listed elimination period and submit your claim. Lincoln Financial may still deny your benefits claim. If it does, the experience of The Law Office of Andrew Reichardt may be able to help you to win an appeal of your denial by Lincoln Financial.
BACKGROUND ON LINCOLN FINANCIAL
Lincoln Financial Group was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania. A publicly traded company, Lincoln Financial is listed on the New York Stock Exchange as LNC. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name used by Lincoln National Corporation, a holding company that is listed on the Fortune 250. It has more than $262 billion in assets.
DISABILITY INSURANCE FROM LINCOLN FINANCIAL
Lincoln Financial offers both short- and long-term disability insurance. The short-term disability insurance benefits are available following a seven-day elimination period and provide weekly benefits for a short duration when you are temporarily unable to work. The benefits replace a percentage of your income for the time specified in your policy. Some workers also choose to purchase long-term disability coverage from Lincoln Financial. This type of coverage may provide benefits for a longer duration of a couple of years or up to age 65, depending on the policy. The elimination period is longer for long-term disability benefits. Some people who have short-term benefits exhaust them before their long-term benefits start for the maximum protection.
APPEALING A DENIAL FROM LINCOLN FINANCIAL
Lincoln Financial denies some claims for disability benefits. If it denies you, it will mail you a letter explaining your rights and the reasons for its denial. You have the right to appeal the denial, and the steps required for doing so will be detailed in your letter along with the deadline for filing your appeal. This deadline is important. If you miss it, you won’t be able to try to recover benefits from Lincoln National for your disability in the future. You also must exhaust the company’s appeals process before you can file a lawsuit against it in court.
You have a right to your claim file, and you should ask Lincoln National to send it to you. Bring your file and your denial letter to your appointment with Andrew Reichardt. He will review the information and advise you on how to proceed. You may be asked to help with your appeal by doing such things as keeping your medical appointments, securing statements from your former employer and your doctor about how your condition limits your functioning, submitting to additional evaluations and test and others. Doing these things may make it more likely that you will win your appeal without having to later sue Lincoln National in court. If you are forced to sue, you will only be able to use the evidence in your file, making adding favorable evidence very important.
While it can be very disconcerting to have your claim for benefits denied by Lincoln Financial, it is possible to win your claim on appeal with the assistance of an attorney. To learn more about the rights that you might have, contact The Law Office of Andrew Reichardt today.