Disability Insurance Articles

Why Doctor Advice Is So Important In Disability Insurance Claims

2011-03-03

The advice of your doctor is always important, but it's particularly important when you're trying to receive a payout for disability insurance claims. Many patients ignore the medication that they've been advised to take or the physical rehabilitation that is necessary after a disabling accident, disease or condition, and this can make it very difficult to receive due compensation from a disability insurance company. Before you even begin to look for disability insurance quotes, make sure that you understand the role that you doctor can play in the claims process.

After filing a disability insurance claim and waiting the required elimination period, your insurance company will begin to issue the agreed upon payouts in your policy. However, this is dependent on a few factors. Your insurance company has an interest in stopping payments as soon as possible, and the only legal way to do this is to make sure that you're able to work. This is where the patient's doctor comes in: a doctor's advice needs to be clearly followed in order for the patient's condition to improve, at least in the eyes of the disability insurance provider. Disability insurance claims will be denied and payouts will cease if the insurance company has evidence that a doctor's orders aren't being followed.

This evidence usually comes from the doctor, who regularly reports to your disability insurance company per their requests. A doctor will not usually report minor transgressions, but if a patient is refusing treatment or engaging in behavior that is not conducive to recovery, the doctor may inform the insurance company. As nearly every disability insurance policy has a term that prevents payout if a doctor's advice and course of treatment isn't being followed, payouts may cease immediately. If you have a legitimate complaint about your physician, however, there are usually channels to follow for making that complaint heard which will allow you to avoid following the doctor's advice, provided that you can find another physician who backs up your point of view. Check with your disability insurance company for more information if you feel that this might be necessary.

It's always a good idea to learn whatever you can about the disability insurance claims process before you apply for a policy. This will help you to know when you've found good disability insurance quotes that don't have a lot of unnecessary exclusions. You'll also feel better prepared if you ever need to make disability insurance claims of any kind and your chances of successfully applying for and receiving payouts will be dramatically higher.