If you have a disability insurance claim with Mutual of Omaha, then you need to understand these traps they use to avoid paying you disability benefits.
Mutual of Omaha and their subsidiary, United of Omaha, often will take longer than is allowed by federal law to decide your claim. Disability insurance companies get an initial 45 days to decide your case, plus two optional extensions of 30 days each, for a total of 105 days. Mutual of Omaha uses a practice called “tolling” to stop that clock so they can have more time to work on finding ways to deny your claim.
This happens when they send you a letter requesting information, and they stop the clock until they receive your response. They won’t tell you they have stopped the clock, but what you need to do is respond immediately in writing by email, fax, or certified mail, proving they received your response.
Mutual of Omaha will sometimes also use “tolling” as an excuse to stop the clock when they ask other people for information, but that is not actually allowed. “Tolling” only applies when they ask you for information about your claim – not when they ask other people. If they say they have stopped the clock while waiting for information from other people, you need to tell them in writing that they can’t do that. If they take over 105 days, demand an immediate decision on your claim.
Mutual of Omaha also uses in-house doctors to reach out to your doctors without your knowledge or consent. You should withdraw authorization for Mutual of Omaha’s adjusters to talk to your doctors, as Mutual of Omaha is seeking to take advantage of your doctors to obtain information they can use to deny your claim. You should require Mutual of Omaha to send their questions in writing to both you and your doctor.
You should always know what questions are being asked about your claim, and if you find they still contact your doctor behind your back, then that is evidence they are setting up to avoid paying you. Watch the video to learn more.
At Tucker Disability Law we handle these cases every day. If your claim has been denied, or 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've got a disability insurance claim with Mutual of Omaha, beware of these traps. I'm John Tucker. I'm a disability insurance attorney and I represent people all over the country who have claims with their employer's group disability plans. Mutual of Omaha, or one of their subsidiaries called United of Omaha, is a big player in this market. They have a lot of group disability insurance policies out there ensuring employer plans and you may be dealing with them. My guess is you're watching this video because you or a loved one, have a claim with Mutual of Omaha. I want to give you some pointers to deal with and things you need to know about that Mutual of Omaha is going to do, but they won't tell you.
First, Mutual of Omaha will very frequently take more time than they're allowed to do under the federal law when they decide your claim. When you file a disability insurance claim, the insurance company has 45 days to decide your case. They can extend that with two 30-day extensions. In other words, another 60 days or a total of 105 days. So yes, that's three and a half months. But what Mutual of Omaha will do is use something called tolling. Tolling is where they stop the clock, that 105-day clock doesn't continue counting. It happens in some situations when they ask for information. They'll send you a letter and ask for something from you and they turn off the clock until you respond. So if Mutual of Omaha sends you a letter, they're not going to tell you there's tolling, what they're going to do is say, "We want this," and your time clock is stopped. So when you get a letter from Mutual of Omaha or a call from an adjuster saying, "We need this from you," you should immediately respond in writing. If you have the adjuster's email address, respond that minute. If you have their fax number, fax it to them. Send it by mail also, certified so you can prove they got it. The quicker you respond, the shorter, the tolling. Now the second thing you need to be aware of is that Mutual of Omaha will use tolling, or they'll claim tolling when they ask other people for information. They're not allowed to do that. They can only do it when they're asking you for information. If they ask somebody else for information and tell you they're suspending their deadlines, tell them they can't do it in writing. If you find they've taken more than 105 days to decide your claim, tell them they've taken too much time and demand an immediate decision on your claim. You might think you're playing nice in the sandbox with them but the more time they take is more time they're using just to look for information not to pay you. Don't fall for that trap.
Finally, they will use in-house doctors to reach out to your doctors to have conversations behind your back. You won't even know your doctors have been called. I recommend to all of my clients that they withdraw all authorizations for the insurance adjuster at Mutual of Omaha to talk to their doctors. Why? Because your doctors unknowingly can say things that can hurt your disability claim. Think about it. Mutual of Omaha's doctors aren't asking the questions that are designed to find out really why you're disabled, they're trying to get information about why you're not disabled, why your medical condition really isn't that bad. Don't give your doctors the authorization to speak to any other doctors, send a letter to the adjuster and explain you're withdrawing authorization for that and if Mutual of Omaha or their doctors have questions, they should send them in writing to you and your doctor and you'll make sure the doctor answers them.
Always ask them to send you a copy so you know what's happening in your case. Now, if those letters start coming out or you find that they've called the doctor's office even though you've told them not to, you probably have a problem and you don't want to be in that trap because that's a setup for not paying you.
If you've had problems with Mutual Omaha not following your instructions or they've denied your claim, call us at the number on your screen. We represent people in disability insurance cases all over the country and we can help you. I'm John Tucker, thanks for watching.
