About Your Insurer

Riemer Hess has over 25 years of experience fighting long term disability insurance companies on behalf of our clients.  We have won long term disability claims, appeals, and litigations with all of the major disability insurance companies.  Through this experience, we've learned the tactics each insurance company uses when evaluating long term disability claims and how to overcome them to secure benefits.

Below you can find more information about our strategies for securing benefits from common disability insurers.  Feel free to ask us about our experience with other insurers if you do not see yours below.  We have dealt with all of the major insurers and many of the lesser-known ones.

Cigna

Cigna is a global health services company that provides disability insurance to individuals and employers.  They offer a variety of disability insurance plans, including short term and long term disability coverage.  As one of the largest disability insurers in the U.S., Cigna makes billions every year in part by denying long term disability claims.

Courts frequently criticize Cigna for relying on their own medical consultants and so-called “independent” medical examiners, while ignoring supportive medical evidence from your treating doctors.  In our experience, Cigna all tends to "cherry-pick" from the evidence -- selectively highlighting information that supports claim denial while ignoring or rejecting evidence that supports approval.  Our article discusses these Cigna tactics and many more.

Learn more about Cigna's disability claim and litigation tactics

Guardian

Guardian is primarily a life insurance company, but it also offers disability insurance.  Guardian provides both short term and long term disability plans to individuals and employers.  Before filing, appealing, or litigating a disability claim with Guardian, it’s important to understand the tactics Guardian routinely uses to deny claims, often unreasonably.

Guardian’s common tactics include ignoring the approval of your Social Security Disability benefits, arguing that your disability is not severe enough to prevent you from working despite any evidence, and relying on their non-examining medical reviewers while dismissing the opinions of your treating doctors.  Our article explores Guardian's tactics and what you can do to combat them.

Learn more about Guardian's disability claim and litigation tactics

Hartford

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (also known as “The Hartford” or “Hartford”) is a well-known provider of insurance and investment products.  Hartford offers both group and individual disability insurance plans, including short term and long term disability coverage.

Hartford has come under fire for its unreasonable practices in delaying and denying long term disability claims that rob claimants of the benefits they are entitled to.  For example, courts have criticized Hartford for failing to meet deadlines and “sand-bagging” claimants with last-minute medical reports.

These are just a few ways Hartford denies disability benefits.  Our article explains the different tactics Hartford utilizes and how to prepare when filing, appealing, or litigating a Hartford disability claim.

Learn more about Hartford's disability claim and litigation tactics

Lincoln Financial

Lincoln Financial Group (also known as “Lincoln”) is a financial services company that offers a range of insurance and investment products, including long term disability insurance.  Lincoln's disability insurance plans include short term and long term coverage options.

There are many strategies Lincoln uses to deny disability benefits.  Lincoln has faced condemnation from courts for unfairly rejecting claims through various tactics, including overreliance on biased medical reviewers and ignoring claimants’ subject symptoms.

Our article discusses which strategies work best against Lincoln when filing, appealing, or litigating a long term disability claim.

Learn more about Lincoln Financial's disability claim and litigation tactics

MassMutual

MassMutual is a significant player in the disability insurance market, insuring millions of people each year.  Their long term disability plans are designed to provide financial protection and support for individuals who are unable to work due to a prolonged illness or injury, ensuring continuity of income during difficult times.

However, claimants often run into problems getting their long term disability claims approved by MassMutual.  If you aren't well-prepared before starting the claims process, it can be all too easy to face an unfair claim denial or termination of your benefits.

Our article explores helpful strategies that can help you secure your benefits with MassMutual.

Learn more about MassMutual's disability claim and litigation tactics

MetLife

Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (known commonly as "MetLife") is one of the largest insurance companies in the world, offering a range of insurance and financial services products.  MetLife offers both individual and group disability insurance plans, including short term and long term coverage options.  As a major disability insurer, MetLife has denied many claimants their long term disability benefits through various means.

Courts across the country have reprimanded MetLife for it claims handling practices.  For example, recent cases have slammed MetLife for relying on paper reviewers and cursory “independent” medical examinations performed by MetLife’s doctors, all the while ignoring evidence from the claimant’s treating doctors.

Our article discusses the common mistakes claimants make that result in benefit denial from MetLife and how to avoid them.

Learn more about MetLife's disability claim and litigation tactics

New York Life

New York Life, a prominent financial services company, offers various disability insurance products, including short term and long term disability coverage.  New York Life, as both the provider and administrator of benefits, may have a financial incentive to deny claims.  Criticism from courts nationwide has highlighted issues in New York Life's claim evaluation process, noting a tendency to selectively acknowledge evidence that supports claim denials while overlooking corroborative documentation.

Our article discusses effective strategies for submitting, appealing, or litigating disability claims with New York Life, aiming to enhance the likelihood of successful benefit approval.

Learn more about New York Life's disability claim and litigation tactics

Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual is a financial services company that offers both short term and long term disability coverage, as well as supplemental disability insurance.  Like all disability insurers, Northwestern Mutual has a profit motive to deny disability claims because it operates as the dual payor-administrator of benefits.

Courts throughout the country have criticized Northwestern Mutual for its claims handling practices.  For example, courts have critical of Northwestern Mutual's evaluation of the disability claim evidence -- finding that Northwestern Mutual selectively cited evidence that favored their benefit denial while ignoring the supportive documentation.

Our article discusses the best practices for filing, appealing, or litigating a disability claim with Northwestern Mutual that will maximize your chances of benefit approval.

Learn more about Northwestern Mutual's disability claim and litigation tactics

Principal Financial Group

As a Fortune 500 company and one of the biggest insurers in the U.S., Principal Financial Group administers millions of disability insurance claims every year.  Many of these claims are denied or terminated  – often unfairly.  Courts have criticized Principal in the past for their practices when handling disability claims, such as mischaracterizing job functions and dismissing the impact of subjective symptoms on a claimant's ability to work.

If you are looking to file, appeal, or litigate a long term disability claim with Principal, it's essential to understand how they evaluate these claims and what strategies you can use to overcome common mistakes that lead to benefit denials.

Learn more about Prinicpal Financial Group's disability claim and litigation tactics

Prudential

Prudential Financial, Inc. is one of the major providers of insurance and financial services.  Prudential offers both group and individual disability insurance plans, including short term and long term coverage options.  Of course, as a private company, Prudential is in the business of making money.  When filing, appealing, or litigating your long term disability claim with Prudential, there is a chance that its incentive to earn profits will impact the outcome of your claim. 

Prudential employs many tactics to deny long term disability claims, which should always be taken seriously.

Learn more about Prudential's disability claim and litigation tactics

Reliance Standard

Reliance Standard, a subsidiary of Delphi Financial Group, LLC, and its sister companies, including Matrix Absence Management and First Reliance Standard, administer millions of disability insurance claims a year for their policyholders.  Many of these claims result in denials, and some claimants have taken Reliance Standard to court - and won.

In litigation, courts have criticized Reliance Standard for how they administer disability claims, including for failing to adhere to ERISA regulations, an overreliance on non-examining medical reviewers, and unfairly dismissing credible subjective symptoms from the claimant.

Understanding how and why Reliance Standard denies or terminates long term disability claims can help you proactively strengthen your claim, gather compelling evidence, and anticipate potential hurdles.

Learn more about Reliance Standard's disability claim and litigation tactics

Sedgwick

Sedgwick, while not functioning as an insurer, stands as a prominent administrator of long term disability ("LTD") claims.  As a leading third-party claims administrator, Sedgwick manages and assesses LTD claims on behalf of various insurance companies and employers. 

If you have disability insurance administered by Sedgwick, you should be aware that Sedgwick's primary allegiance is to the policyholder or employer rather than the claimant.  It is crucial for individuals filing for LTD benefits to be well-prepared and vigilant when dealing with Sedgwick, considering their history of facing criticism for improper claim denials and administrative practices.

Understanding Sedgwick's tactics, such as their demand for specific types of evidence and potential procedural errors, can empower claimants to navigate the claims process more effectively and seek legal assistance if necessary to ensure a fair evaluation of their disability claims.

Learn more about Sedgwick's disability claim and litigation tactics

SunLife

SunLife Financial is a global financial services company that offers a range of insurance and investment products.  SunLife offers both individual and group disability insurance plans, including short term and long term disability.  As a major company, SunLife is motivated to deny benefits to increase their own profit margins.

Courts across the United States have criticized SunLife for unfairly denying disability claims.  For example, in Roehr v. Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada, the Court criticized SunLife for “cherry-picking” a claimant’s records to find one piece of evidence that could only be considered favorable to SunLife when taken out of context.  This is just one of many examples.

If you are filing, appealing, or litigating a long term disability claim with SunLife, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with how SunLife handles these claims.  Our article below explains strategies to best increase your chances of getting approved for benefits with SunLife.

Learn more about SunLife's disability claim and litigation tactics

Unum

Unum Group is the largest provider of disability insurance and other employee benefits in the United States.  Unum offers short and long term disability with group and individual disability insurance plans.  

Unum has been accused of engaging in unfair practices by terminating or denying legitimate disability claims, ignoring medical evidence, and delaying or denying benefit payments.  From 2004 to 2005, Unum made settlements with state insurance regulators and the US Department of Labor due to its abusive disability claims handling practices.  To date, studies have shown Unum's conduct remains largely unchanged, if not worse.  See, e.g., Philip W Thomas, 15 Years Later – Did the Unum Group Improve Its ERISA Claims Handling Practices?, 39 Miss. C. L. Rev. 199 (2021).

Indeed, Unum has been the subject of numerous lawsuits and regulatory investigations for their wrongful practices.  In fact, Riemer Hess won a recent litigation against Unum where the Court awarded our client initially denied benefits and criticized Unum for ignoring her subjective symptoms.

Our article discusses the best strategies to overcome Unum's tactics and secure your disability benefits.

Learn more about Unum's disability claim and litigation tactics

If you’ve thinking of filing, appealing, or litigating a long term disability benefits, you should always consult with a long term disability attorney for guidance.  The long term disability ERISA attorneys at Riemer Hess LLC have been providing critical guidance to claimants like you for over 25 years. Call us today at (212) 297-0700 or click the button below to schedule a consultation with our attorneys.