Special Workshop on Long Term Disability Benefits

On February 7, 2007, I lectured at a Special Workshop on long term disability benefits held in the New York City offices of Friends in Deed. The title of the lecture was "Long-Term Disability Benefits in Danger: Disturbing Trends and Dirty Tricks. This was in conjunction with Per Larson, a financial planner. Friends in Deed is a nonprofit organization in New York City that serves as a crisis center for individuals suffering from life-threatening illnesses. Their website is located at www.friendsindeed.org.

At the workshop, I focussed on the top ten sleezy practices of disability insurance companies. They are:
1. Losing your documents.
2. Misrepresenting conversations with your doctor.
3. Cherrypicking your medical records.
4. Requesting Functional Capacity Evaluations that have no scientific validity.
5. Insisting on objective evidence of pain and fatigue.
6. Evaluating your claim solely on the basis of a "peer review."
7. Characterizing your occupation as sedentary and ignoring its cognitive demands.
8. Moving the goal posts.
9. Putting a wedge between you and your doctor.
10. Pressuring an insured to take a low lump sum settlement.

For more information on the sleezy practices of insurance companies, please see the obtaining benefits section of our website.