I filed a claim on my AFLAC short-term disability policy after submitting all the necessary forms, filed out correctly and legibly, on July 1. The agent who signed me up through my employer a couple of years ago, and the AFLAC website, both quote that "most claims submitted are porcessed within 4 days". (I assume they mean business days. And I have a 7 day wait period before the claim pays, yes, I know that!) On July 9th, 10 days after Aflac acknowledges receipt of my claim on July 1st, I inquired (by email) on their web site, as to why my claim was still "processing". No agent called be back but subsequently I did receive a letter from AFLAC dated July 9th, on July 14th, stating, "we have received all necessary documentation on July 1 and we will process your claim within 14 days.". Today is July 16th and I checked the AFLAC automated phone system this afternoon regarding the status of my claim. (Wait time to speak to a live claims representative is greater than 1/2 hour.) I got a recorded general message that said several types of claims, including "all" short term disability claims, "received by July 10th will be processed on July 24th.". So what ever happened to the 4, or 10, (BUSINESS?) DAYS they advertise?! I suppose they will respond that MOST claims, in the past, have traditionally been processed faster. But, I think this is false advertising. After they "process my claim" on the 24th, IF I am approved, I assume I will wait another 4 to 6 days to receive a check, and then wait 3 more business days for the funds to clear as my bank places a "hold" on funds from an out of state check. I live in Alabama. I really don't think it should take as long as it did (from July 9th to July 14th) to get a letter from their "worldwide headquarters" which is only a few hours drive, by car, from where I live. And what if, after waiting a MONTH for a response to my claim, they find some reason to deny paying me? As a single working parent / Mother, I purchased disability policies to help me cover living expenses in the unfortunate event that I should become suddenly disabled and loose my monthly paycheck. I always felt secure having the AFLAC short-term policy, that if anything should happen (which it did) that I wouldn't run slap out of money before the long wait for my long-term policy, and social security disability, processed and paid. I am disappointed in the Aflac customer service and how slow they actually are to process their claims. I will let you know if they do actually pay on the policy I have been carrying in the future or find some "loophole" to deny me my benefits.By then I will be lucky to still have the electricity on in my home as my local "farmers co=op" electric company allows no grace period for late bill payments.
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