If you get gravely injured or ill and can no longer do your job, you may want to consider utilizing your long-term disability benefits. Unfortunately, some insurance companies deny long-term disability claims for different reasons. If this happens, you need an attorney to help you get your benefits. While you have to pay for an attorney, the benefits can be rewarding. Here are some things you should know:

When Should You Hire an Attorney for a Long-Term Disability Claim?

Your disability claim can be denied for any number of reasons. Some insurers may only want to pay you only a portion of the benefits within your policy based on the information you provide. You may also be denied if your claim takes too long or does not have adequate documentation to back up your claim.

There are some practices employed by some insurance companies that are seemingly unfair but still allowed in the industry. Surveillance is one method of investigation an insurance company may utilize when trying to determine if you should receive your benefits. In this practice, a representative from the insurance company may spend time looking at your social media profiles or other ways that show how you are living during this time of illness or injury. If the insurance company finds information they can use to prove you should not win your claim, they can deny it. While this is not an illegal practice, an attorney can argue on your behalf as to why surveillance is not fairly representing your everyday life.

Should You Hire an Attorney After You Are Denied?

If your insurance company denied your claim, your next step should be hiring an attorney before you try to appeal. Your attorney will do an investigation into your claim and review the evidence you have already submitted. He or she can then make a case for your claim and argue why you should receive your payments. An attorney who works with long-term disability claims will have vast knowledge on the topic and can help you get through the claim faster that you can on your own.

Should You Hire an Attorney at the Beginning of a Claim?

While it is not necessary to retain an attorney before you make a claim for long-term disability benefits, it may not be a bad idea. Attorneys like those at Iler and Iler will help you gather the proper information that you need to get through your claim the first time with a lesser likelihood of needing an appeal.