About a month ago, my lawyer received word from my insurer that they were going to reinstate my LTD benefits effective March (have yet to receive), and issue retroactive pay to the start of my eligibility. I have been waiting for an update and called today but was unable to speak to my lawyer directly. The admin that I spoke to said they were just waiting for the releases to be received so that I could sign them and then send them back to my lawyer to be finalized. What exactly are ‘releases’? Is that just the documentation with the amount calculated, that I sign to approve and then am paid out? Initially this was supposed to take 2-3 weeks, but I was told it was taking a little longer to get them from a different city. Bit confused.
Also, is there any reason why I can’t call the insurer to ask about when my March benefit will be paid? I was going to avoid corresponding with them until everything with the lawyer was done, but I don’t think there would be any reason why I couldn’t? Thanks so much. I’m happy knowing my case is won, but I do have to let others now when I can pay my bills.
I would be hesitant to call the insurer now that you have “lawyered up”.
Mail doesn’t take 2-3 weeks.
Bug the lawyer.
If your LTD is like mine, it is paid the last day of the month (March 30).
Are you being reinstated for LTD or did you settle for a buyout?
No mail doesn’t take 2-3 weeks, he speculated getting the release and having it sent to me and back could take that long to be completed. The insurance has reinstated my monthly benefits (they call it that even though I never had them to begin with), starting with a March payment. The lump sum is the retroactive payment for what my monthly benefit would have been starting in the fall of 2016 through February 2018. So not a buy-out, just a retro payment.
I don’t think it’s the best option to call them either until It’s all done with. I’ll assume I’ll get it at the end of the month, and go from there.
The retro is likely to be the end of the month too.
They over estimated my CPP-D so the insurance company owed me money.
On the other hand, Service Canada goes above and beyond.
They missed the cutoff date for the direct deposit of my first payment and were able to pay me a week later.
I would avoid talking to them unless absolutely necessary.
I contacted my insurance company at the end of Feb. because I think the amount they pay me is wrong.
I didn’t get a response so I followed up a few weeks after.
My case manager said she forwarded my email to a coworker who was supposed to phone me.
I didn’t get a phone call or mail.
I’ll see if it is magically fixed at the end of the month.
If not, I’ll follow up in April.
Service Canada was an absolute breeze to deal with when I applied for EI sick benefits. I was impressed.
I believe they send the calculation for the retro to my lawyer, I sign off on it (because they get about 1/3), and we are both paid out of a sort of trust account at that point. Sure would be nice if it was this month!!!
I see no issue of calling your Insurer to see when the next monthly income benefit will be deposited.
The retro is being handled by your lawyer–but you are back on claim so a call for that amount is more than reasonable.
Likely though it should be the same day as before they cut you off
I was never cut off, as I never received benefits previously (it’s been a year and a half battling to get them), so ‘re-instating’ them is actually ‘instating’ them in my case!
I would do everything through your lawyer until the insurance company pays what they owe and start paying regularly. All I know is that having to get a lawyer would piss me off.
You should discuss with your lawyer and not contact the insurer until things are finalized and you have ok to do so. Release Forms are used in settlements to say that a claimant acknowledges certain payments have been made or certain legal rights waived etc. Releases are often used in these situation, especially if a lawsuit was filed. If this is a settlement, then there are things that need to be done to finalize before all payments can be released and benefits started.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
Thanks David, I’ll hold off on contacting the insurance co. Apparently it looks like the defense lawyer will be forwarding the retro amount to a holding account and then I’ll be getting the paperwork to sign.
Yes, that is exactly how it gos. The money is held in a lawyers trust account until all Release forms are signed and your lawyer has filed a Notice of Discontinuance with the court.
David Brannen
Disability Lawyer with Resolute Legal
The response posted above is based on the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with a lawyer, fully explain your situation, and allow the lawyer enough time to research the applicable law and facts required to give an adequate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service only, a full one-on-one discussion with a lawyer should be done before taking any any action. The information posted on this forum is available to the viewing public and is not intended to create a lawyer client relationship with any person. If you want one-on-one advice, please click here to request a free consultation or call toll free 1-877-282-5188 to speak with a member with our disability claim support team.
