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Navigating the long-term disability application process is challenging enough when you have an illness or injury to contend with. But to do all that work only to have your claim denied can make you feel like giving up. 

If your long-term disability benefits were denied, don't get discouraged or intimidated. Insurance companies routinely deny LTD claims. Speak with a disability lawyer as soon as possible as they know how to deal with the insurance companies and get you the benefits you're entitled to. Keep in mind, the legal system puts time limits on how long you have to fight back.

Below are a few typical reasons insurance companies deny long-term disability claims. If you're in the process of completing an application for LTD benefits, this guide can shed a little light on the LTD process and some of the documentation you may need to include in your application. 

If your long-term disability benefits were denied or terminated, take comfort in knowing that disability lawyers see these reasons for denial every day and are still able to get their clients the support they need and the benefits they're entitled to.

1. Not Enough Medical Evidence to Support Your Claim

This is a fairly common reason for denying an LTD claim. The insurance company will say that the medical records included in your application didn't prove that the extent of your injury or illness and its symptoms are severe enough that you are "totally disabled." 

Despite how it sounds, to be "totally disabled" only means that you can't perform a substantial portion of your job duties.

If this is the reason they use, they may or may not provide you with a list of tests or records that were missing or insufficient. Whether they do or not, what matters is what you submitted to them. 

If your doctor or specialist provided them with an official diagnosis and tests, Xrays, and any other records that show you are unable to perform the specific functions of your work, then you may have done enough to prove your entitlement. 

2. No Objective Way to Prove the Disability

Some disabilities, like mental illness, chronic pain and fibromyalgia, can't be verified with diagnostic tests like blood tests, Xrays, MRIs, etc. Insurance companies that deny these claims argue that there is no 'objective proof' and no way to independently verify the patient's self-reported symptoms. Based on the lack of proof, they conclude that there is no disability. 

3. You Are Now Able To Work

If you have been approved for LTD benefits and have been receiving them for close to two years, chances are your insurance company will start sending you to medical examinations. 

After two years, an insurance company is only required to keep paying LTD benefits if your disability prevents you from performing "any occupation" to which you are reasonably suited. Since this is harder to prove, the insurer will use the results of the examinations as proof that your condition doesn't meet the standard of an "any occupation" disability and will stop paying benefits. 

The Bottom Line 

It's the job of everyone that works for an insurance company to deny as many claims as possible. They rely on your lack of disability law knowledge to make you think your injury or illness isn't severe enough to claim long-term disability benefits. Don't accept their decision, speak with a disability lawyer who knows how to fight back and what it takes to get them to pay the benefits you're entitled to.