They’re Watching. Don’t Get Caught By Insurance Companies.
My name is Brandon Osterbind. I am an injury and disability attorney in Central Virginia and I help people whose long-term disability claims have been denied.
Why they are watching you
I want you to know that the insurance company is watching you. From the moment that you filed your claim or from the moment that they were notified that you might file your claim, the insurance company started watching you. The insurance company doesn’t want to pay out a lot of money, particularly when it comes to long-term disability claims. They don’t want to approve your claim.
Think about it. If you’re making $5,000 a month or your benefit is $5,000 a month, that’s $60,000 a year. And for a lot of policies, that claim can go on until you’re 67 years old. If you’re young or if you’re middle aged and you still have 10 years at $60,000 a year, that’s $600,000 over the course of 10 years.
The insurance companies will do everything they can to make sure that they do not have to pay that claim. And that includes surveilling your home. A lot of times, we see the insurance company sending a surveillance company out to sit outside your home with a nice video camera. And they will try their best to capture you doing something that you said that you could not do.
What you must do
It’s important to do two things. One, live within your doctor’s restrictions. If your doctor says you shouldn’t do something, don’t do it. And two, always tell the truth. If you say that you can’t lift certain things or if you say that you can’t bend or squat or turn or whatever it may be, whatever you say better be the truth.
And the real question is that when you think that no one’s watching, can you do those things? Or are you just not doing them because someone’s watching? And that’s what the insurance company wants to know. They want to know if you’re lying to them to get their $600,000.
Think about it from their perspective. They are going to be watching your every move to see if they can catch you in a lie or if they can catch you doing something your doctor told you not to do.
They’re also watching your social media
The other thing that they’re watching is your social media, whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok or whatever. If you say that you can’t work, you probably shouldn’t be dancing on TikTok. I know that this might rub some people the wrong way but it’s the truth. And the insurance company is going to use that information against you.
What happens once you’re on claim?
Make sure that you’re thinking about that while your claim is pending and also while you’re on claim. Because even if you’re on claim, even if you ultimately win your benefits, the insurance company is still watching you, looking for a reason to terminate your benefits.
I hope that you’ve learned something about your long-term disability policy and the insurance company that provides it. And I hope that you have also learned something about how to live your life with respect to your long-term disability policy.
If you can work, obviously, the answer is always going to be, let’s go find you a job. Let’s find something that you are able to do. But if you can’t work, let’s be smart about what you’re doing and what information you’re putting out there to make sure that it can’t be misconstrued and used against you.
If you have questions
If you have questions about your long-term disability policy or the insurance company that provides your policy, or if you have been under surveillance or the insurance company has mentioned your social media, give us a call.
We’d like to talk to you and help you through this. We’d like to give you advice to make sure that you are doing the things you need to do to make sure that you either win your claim or stay on claim.
