CIGNA / LINA fined $600,000 and required to reconsider prior disability denials
Recently, the California Department of Insurance settled with LINA, a daughter company of CIGNA – to the tune of $600,000. What was this penalty for? According to California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, LINA was apparently ignoring certain claims that might have been valid disability claims.
Between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 – LINA improperly handled insurance claims. It seems that not only did LINA deny many cases before ever receiving the medical proof those clients were entitled to their insurance payouts – but LINA ignored important information that may have reversed the denied claim on a number of accounts.
This means that individuals who had been paying their insurance premiums incase they were ever labeled ‘disabled’ and were unable to work and care for their families were now left with nothing to turn to. Even if their claims were 100% valid and legitimate, LINA may have simply turned a blind eye to their case. For this, LINA has paid the penalty and has agreed to reopen each of the cases reviewed between January 2005 and December 2007 to determine whether any of those cases should have been approved when they were denied.
LINA has a completely new set of standards they must use when reviewing these cases, however, policyholders have a right to be more than a little worried or upset. Because contracts are complicated, policyholders need to have the proper representation to help them receive the benefits they deserve. Often times, because contracts are so complicated, insurance companies have a multitude of chances to slow down the process or pause it completely.
Individuals who were denied by LINA or CIGNA between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2007 (must have letter of denial with LINA or CIGNA logo on top) should seriously consider hiring an attorney to ensure that their best interests are being taken into account. Normal individuals are not trained in contracts and law, so most people will have a difficult time understanding the many facets and confusing twists of a contract. An attorney puts normal individuals on the same level with insurance companies who have studied contracts and laws so that a fair decision can be made.
According to long-term disability attorney Gregory Dell, “Disability Income policies are drafted with ambiguous and confusing contractual terms. This provides insurance companies with multiple reasons for delaying and denying disability income benefits.” This means that while normal people may have a difficult time understanding contracts, attorneys can easily explain the intricacies and help their clients and keep insurance companies on track to a payment of benefits.
By hiring an attorney, individuals can ensure that their best interests are being taken care of. The policyholders who are clients of CIGNA/LINA and will be facing reassessment should consider legal representation in order to ensure that they receive what is rightfully theirs. This could result in some clients being paid the benefits that they were originally denied, and in some cases, with interest. Using the new standards, LINA must evaluate each and every case that was denied between those two years, and the individuals who have an attorney are more likely to prevail.
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5 Ways We Help Get Your Benefits Paid
Our goal is to get your application for disability insurance benefits approved. Applying for disability insurance benefits can be a difficult process and the information you provide is critical. Most disability insurance companies look at your application in hopes of finding a reason to deny your claim. Your disability company will ask you to complete numerous forms, interview you, request lots of information, speak with your doctors and possibly request to have you examined by their hired gun doctor.
Through our experience of having helped thousands of disability insurance claimants, our disability insurance lawyers will guide you through the entire application process and give you the best chance to get your disability claim approved the first time.
If your disability insurance benefits have been wrongfully denied, then our disability insurance lawyers know exactly what it takes to get your disability claim approved. You only get once chance to submit an Appeal, therefore every piece of evidence that will support your disability claim must be included. The goal is to win your disability benefits at the Appeal level, but while preparing your Appeal you must consider how a federal judge will review your disability claim if your benefit denial is upheld.
Preparing a strong disability appeal package is an art that requires you to understand how the courts interpret your disability policy language, ERISA regulations / laws, and how to strategically present evidence in support of your definition of disability. We encourage you to contact any of our long-term disability attorneys for a free immediate review of your disability denial.
98% of the disability insurance lawsuits filed by our law firm have resulted in either the payment of benefits or a lump-sum settlement agreement. Our disability insurance attorneys have filed ERISA governed and private policy long term disability insurance lawsuits against every major disability insurance company in state and federal courts nationwide and we love fighting for the little guy against the multi-billion dollar insurance company giants.
We have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients and we would like the opportunity to provide you with a free review of your disability benefit denial. There are many complex factors in a disability benefit lawsuit and the legal battle to win long term disability benefits can be fierce.
Approval of long-term disability is a continuous process as every disability insurance company will evaluate your eligibility for benefits on a monthly basis. You can never let your guard down and assume that your disability company will continue to pay your benefits for as long as you think you need them.
Our disability insurance law firm offers a reasonable flat fee monthly claim handling service in which we handle every aspect of your long-term disability claim and do whatever it takes to make sure you are paid every month.
Let's discuss if a lump-sum settlement or buyout of your disability insurance claim is both available and makes financial sense for you. Our disability insurance lawyers have negotiated more than five-hundred million dollars in disability insurance buyouts and we know how to get you a maximum settlement. A disability insurance company is not required to offer a buyout and not every disability company offers them.
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We are disability insurance attorneys that know how to get your short or long term disability benefits paid. As a nationwide law firm we have helped thousands of disability insurance claimants throughout the United States to collect hundreds of millions of dollars of disability insurance benefits from every major disability insurance company.
Our attorneys have been able to either get our clients paid monthly disability benefits or obtain a one-time lump-sum settlement in more than 98% of our cases. Our disability insurance lawyers have seen it all when it comes to disability insurance claims and we know exactly what it takes for your disability claim to be approved.
We offer disability insurance attorney representation nationwide and we welcome you to contact any of our LTD lawyers for a free immediate review of your disability claim. We also invite you to visit and subscribe to our YouTube channel where we have more than 900 videos and regularly provide tips to help protect your disability benefits.
Our disability insurance attorneys help individuals that have either purchased a long term disability insurance policy from an insurance company or obtained short or long term disability insurance coverage as a benefit from their employer. We have helped individuals in almost every type of occupation with monthly disability benefit payments ranging from $1,500 to $50,000.
Our clients include all types of employees ranging from retail associates, sales representatives, government employees, police officers, teachers, janitors, nurses, pilots, truck drivers, financial advisors, doctors, dentists, veterinarians, lawyers, consultants, IT professionals, engineers, professional athletes, business owners, and high level executives.
A strong understanding and presentation of the duties of your occupation is essential for securing disability insurance benefits.
Yes. We are a national disability insurance law firm that is available to represent you regardless of where you live in the United States. We have partner lawyers in every state and we have filed lawsuits in most federal courts nationwide. Our disability insurance lawyers represent disability claimants at all stages of a claim for disability insurance benefits. There is nothing that our lawyers have not seen in the disability insurance world.
Since we represent disability insurance claimants at different stages of a disability insurance claim we offer a variety of different fee options. We understand that claimants living on disability insurance benefits have a limited source of income; therefore we always try to work with the claimant to make our attorney fees as affordable as possible.
The three available fee options are a contingency fee agreement (no attorney fee or cost unless we make a recovery), hourly fee or fixed flat rate.
In every case we provide each client with a written fee agreement detailing the terms and conditions. We always offer a free initial phone consultation and we appreciate the opportunity to work with you in obtaining payment of your disability insurance benefits.
No. For purposes of efficiency and to reduce expenses for our clients we have found that 99% of our clients prefer to communicate via phone, email, fax, or video conferencing sessions. If you prefer an initial in-person meeting please let us know. A disability company will never require you to come to their office and similarly we are set up so that we handle your entire claim without the need for you to come to our office.
When you call us during normal business hours you will immediately speak with a disability insurance attorney. We can be reached at 800-698-9159 or by email. Lawyers and staff must return all client calls same day. Client emails are usually replied to within the same business day and seem to be the preferred and most efficient method of communication for most clients.