I had purchased a disability policy from Assurant primarily because of my occupation as a firefighter. My premiums were payroll deducted so there would be no lapse of coverage and more importantly verification of payment. I had the policy for 6 years when a situation came up which required me to take an early retirement. Several physicians documented my disability confirming my days as a firefighter were over.
I applied for term disability with Assurant and was required to submit a plethora of forms to their office for their review.initially the correspondence was favorable and was even told by one of the disability claims reviewer that a check should arrive at my residence in three days.
After waiting ten days I called the contact person and was told, "there's a problem".
I later received a denial of benefits in the mail citing reasons, ranging from unpaid premiums to non compliance with FMLA.
I exercised my right to an appeal and requested that the program administrator send Assurant a compliance letter. It was denied again.
My second appeal was a four page letter rebutting their decision citing compliance with every concerned statute, law, policy, HIPAA, medical records, and contact I had referencing this situation. Again I was denied.
I contacted the Employees Benefit Security Admin. And Florida Dept. Of Insurance. I was told that the issue at hand was contract language, not my disability. Not wanting to give up, I contacted a disability attorney. During the consultation I was told by these attorneys that the Assurant policy I had sent them was the most restrictive policy they had ever seen. Run away from these people, they will rip you off.
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