How do you file a Long-Term disability claim with The Hartford?

How do you file a claim for disability with Hartford and what do you do if you are denied?

Author: Attorney Lonnie Roach

Hartford Financial Services Group, or “The Hartford” as it is commonly known, is an investment and insurance company based in Hartford, Connecticut.

---

The Hartford may send an investigator to interview the claimant and may ignore medical evidence contrary to that of their own medical experts. That’s why it’s important to have a qualified attorney with LTD and ERISA experience to manage your case.

The company was originally founded in 1810 by local merchants as Hartford Fire Insurance Company and covered damages sustained in the fire which destroyed the New York Financial District in 1835, the Chicago Fire of 1871, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire.

Babe Ruth purchased a disability protection policy from the Hartford in 1920 and the company insured the only home ever owned by Abraham Lincoln.

In March 2012, the company decided to sell its wealth management business and concentrate on property and casualty insurance, group benefits, and mutual funds.

The Hartford ranked 153 in the Fortune 500 list in 2017 with a revenue of $17 billion and was the 12th largest property and casualty company in the United States, selling primarily through agents and brokers. It employs approximately 18,500 people and serves more than one million small businesses.

A 2016 survey by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisor (LIMRA) lists the Hartford’s market rankings as follows:

•   No. 2 workers’ compensation insurer
•    No. 2 group life and disability insurer
•   No. 2 in fully insured disability in force
•   No. 4 in fully insured disability sales

Hartford offers a variety of products for businesses and individuals, including:

•   Auto insurance
•   Home insurance
•   Renters insurance
•   Workers compensation insurance
•   General and professional liability insurance
•   Umbrella insurance
•    Group short-term and long-term disability insurance
•   Life insurance
•   Absence management
•   Critical illness and accident insurance

Hartford’s short-term and long-term disability insurance is purchased through an employer and provides a portion of an employee’s salary for covered injuries and illnesses sustained either at work or outside the workplace.

Also offered is an employee benefit called “Disability Flex,” for short-term absences such as maternity leave or broken bones, which allows an employee to select the portion of income they will receive, the date payments will begin and how long payments will continue.

If you have been denied long term disability benefits don’t give up! Contact a Disability lawyer at 512-454-4000 for a free consultation and get the benefits you deserve.

To submit a claim for disability benefits, an applicant can call Hartford’s group disability claim number at 1-800-549-6514 or report a claim online at www.thehartford.com.

The applications for short-term and long-term disability benefits are fairly standard, including an Employer’s Statement, Employee’s Statement, Authorization to Obtain Information and Attending Physician’s Statement. The application for long-term disability benefits also includes a subsection: Information for Group Life Premium Waiver Benefits.

The application can be faxed or mailed to The Hartford at:

The Hartford
Attention: Group LTD Claims
P. O. Box 14301
Lexington, KY 40512-4301
Fax: 877-431-8901

Disability insurance offered by the Hartford is governed by ERISA and the company may not provide policy holders with much information on how to file claims, what illnesses and injuries are covered, or how to file an appeal if a claim is denied.

The Hartford may send an investigator to conduct a long (3-4 hour) interview with the applicant and may ignore medical evidence contrary to that of their own medical experts. It frequently uses video surveillance to determine if a claimant can return to work.

If your claim is denied, the company should send you a letter notifying you of the denial and the reasons why the claim was denied.

It is important to be diligent and pay attention to deadlines when appealing a denial. ERISA disability disputes can be long and drawn out and few disabled people have either the resources or physical stamina to fight with a large insurance company. That’s why it’s important to have a qualified attorney with extensive experience in LTD disputes and ERISA to organize and manage your case. Partner and long-term disability attorney Lonnie Roach of Bemis, Roach & Reed has successfully overturned denials of disability benefits at the administrative level, in United States District Court, and at the United States Court of Appeals. Presently Lonnie represents clients who have been denied or lost insurance, long term/ ERISA or Social Security disability benefits in all four federal districts in Texas. If you have been denied long term disability benefits, Bemis, Roach & Reed offers a free consultation to determine if we can assist you in obtaining or reinstating those benefits. Call 512-454-4000 and get help today.

The Hartford Case Studies:

Originally approved for disability benefits under the Mental Illness clause of his Halliburton policy, our Spring Branch client’s benefits were terminated initially because of the two-year mental/nervous limitation in his policy.

Upon review however, the plan administrator found that his condition had been improperly classified as a mental/nervous condition and then properly classified it as Post Concussive Syndrome with Attention Deficit Disorder and Organic Brain Syndrome, a physical condition; benefits were reinstated. It remained classified this way for the next 18 years, until the time of denial. The client had organic brain damage for over 20 years. During that time, The Hartford, or its predecessor, recognized that the client’s organic brain injury rendered him totally disabled from any occupation under the terms of the plan. Since there is no treatment or cure for organic brain damage, the medical evidence of his condition had no expiration date. SSA awarded him SSDI benefits, but The Hartford ultimately denied his LTD benefits again. We filed suit and were able to settle his case.

The former president of a company in Houston had been receiving disability benefits, and then was denied.

The Social Security Administration concurred with his physicians that he was disabled from any gainful activity, much less his former occupation as president of a multi-national corporation. At the time of denial, over ten years after the initial disability determination, he was placed on a heart transplant list. The physician on whom Hartford allegedly relied to deny benefits stated that the client could not work at any occupation. Nonetheless, The Hartford denied his claim. After filing suit, we were able to get his benefits reinstated.

Author: Attorney Lonnie Roach has been practicing law for over 29 years. He is Superlawyers rated by Thomson Reuters and is Top AV Preeminent® and Client Champion rated by Martindale Hubbell. Through his extensive litigation Mr. Roach obtained board certifications from the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Lonnie is admitted to practice in the United States District Court – all Texas Districts and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Highly experienced in Long Term Disability denials and appeals governed by the “ERISA” Mr. Roach is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Austin Bar Association, and is a past the director of the Capital Area Trial Lawyers Association (Director 1999-2005) Mr. Roach and all the members of Bemis, Roach & Reed have been active participants in the Travis County Lawyer referral service.