If you have a disability insurance claim with Cigna through your employer’s group plan, then you need to avoid a number of traps that threaten your claim.
First, as of 9-11-20 Cigna is selling their book of business to New York Life. Current claimants for Cigna represent an opportunity for New York Life to lower the number of claims they’ll be paying in the future. New York Life may attempt to terminate current claimants through scrutiny by additional adjusters.
Second, Cigna uses “tolling” to “stop the clock” on your claim while they wait for you to respond, and this slows down your claim process by giving them more time to respond on their end. You may receive several letters, with Cigna stopping the clock each time until they receive the response. You need to respond immediately if Cigna asks you for anything. They can only toll if you have the information and you don’t give it to them. If you tell them you don’t have the information, then they can’t toll.
Third, Cigna is known to send claimants to “Compulsory Medical Examinations” with their doctors, and these examinations almost always result in denial of the disability claim. If Cigna tells you they’re sending you to see their doctor, then you need to call an attorney. Watch the video to learn more.
At Tucker Disability Law we handle disability insurance cases every day. If you have any additional questions, call Tucker Disability Law at (866) 282-5260 , or review our videos and media library for more information.
Video TranscriptYou have a disability insurance claim with Cigna through your employer's group plan, here are some traps you need to know about. I'm John Tucker. I'm a disability attorney, and I represent people all over the United States who have claims with their employer's group plan. Cigna is one of the largest insurers of group disability plans in the country, and we have experienced going back years and years and years with Cigna, hundreds of claims. Here are some things that I think you need to be aware of if you have a Cigna disability claim.
First, at the time I'm doing this video, Cigna is in the middle of closing a transaction with New York Life selling their book of business. For about six and a half billion dollars, New York Life is taking over Cigna's disability claim operation. Cigna is getting out of the disability business. You need to be aware of that because New York Life may try to terminate people who are already on claim. So if you've got a claim that's pending now or has been approved, beware. There may be heightened scrutiny. There may be more adjusters looking at your claim to see if they can turn you off.
Second, until that happens, Cigna has a pretty unique view of something called tolling. Tolling is when insurance companies get to suspend their time deadlines. The federal law that governs group benefit plans has certain time deadlines that apply to insurance companies, either in the initial claim or during appeals. Cigna thinks that every time they send you a letter and ask for information, they get to turn the clock off. Now there is a concept, like I said, called tolling that allows them to do that, but what Cigna will do is send serial requests for information. You'll get three, four or five letters sometimes asking you for information, and Cigna is not telling you they're turning off the clock every time. When you get a letter from Cigna asking for anything, you need to immediately respond. Fax them or email them a reply. Tell them if you don't have something and if you have it, send it. They only can toll if you have information to give them and you don't give it to them. So if you tell them, "I don't have it," they can't toll.
Finally, Cigna has actively been sending our clients out for examinations. We call it a compulsory medical examination. It's when they pick a doctor to examine you. When that happens on your claim, it's never a good thing. I can honestly tell you that in the last 10 years of my practice, and I've been doing this about 30 years, I've seen one person who went out to an insurance company doctor and that insurance company doctor said they were still disabled, and we're talking hundreds of clients. If they're sending you to a doctor, bad things are going to happen on your claim almost undoubtedly. I can't give you that guarantee, but I bet on it. If an insurance company like Cigna says they want to send you to a doctor, you need to call an attorney. If you find yourself in a situation where Cigna doesn't pay your claim or they're taking too long or they've denied your claim, call us at the number below. We can help you. We handle claims like yours all over the country every day. I'm John Tucker. Thanks for watching.
