Aetna Disability Lawyers

Frankel & Newfield has the experience you need and the compassion you deserve. We have helped clients push back against Aetna – and win.

Aetna is a leading long term disability insurance company that Frankel & Newfield regularly encounters on behalf of claimants. We represent Aetna disability policyholders with long and short term disability claims. If your Aetna disability claim has been denied, or if your claim has been terminated, call Frankel & Newfield at 877-LTD-CLAIM to find out how we can help you.

We can help protect your rights to your claim, and can fight Aetna on your behalf, when you are too ill or overwhelmed to do so.

Now that Aetna’s U.S. disability and group life business has been purchased by Hartford Life & Accident, making The Hartford the second largest group life and disability insurer in the country, disability claims may be more challenging for claimants. The purchase of Aetna by Hartford was to boost Hartford’s returns and long-term corporate growth. The question is, will it be good for people who count on Aetna disability insurance benefits to protect their families?

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Aetna, like most disability insurance companies, is more profitable when it is collecting premiums than when it is paying claims. With the ultimate goal of making profits for its shareholders, the company benefits when claims are delayed and/or denied. The problem is, hardworking deserving people who count on their disability insurance to replace some of their income are left without the benefits they paid for.

At Frankel & Newfield, we have represented claimants who have had challenges with both Aetna and Hartford, so we are familiar with their tactics in delaying, denying and eventually attempting to terminate claims.

Clients Choose Us Because We:

• Have recovered $200M+ for our clients.
• Have seen your situation before.
• Are aggressive in our approach.
• Know the tactics used by the insurance companies.
• Hold high AV Ratings & received the Super Lawyers designation each year.

Tactics Used by Aetna Against Disability Insurance Claimants

Here are some of the typical tactics that we see frequently used by Aetna when seeking to delay or deny ERISA claims:

• In-house medical and psychiatric resources to review claims;
• Reliance upon vocational reports from Coventry Health, which is wholly-owned by Aetna;
• Utilization of the same group of doctors who perform paper only peer reviews.

None of these resources could possibly give a claimant a completely independent review of their medical records or claims. These tactics have been criticized by some Courts, who have noted that many of the doctors relied upon by Aetna have had their “bread buttered” many times by Aetna.

Our Approach to Pursuing Aetna Disability Claims:

Our experience team can support your Aetna disability insurance claim. Here are some of the ways in which we help our clients with Aetna claims:

• Pre-claim strategizing to help ensure seamless transition to claim;
• Claim preparation and claim management;
• Defending claimants from aggressive claim tactics (including requests for Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCEs), Independent Medical Exams (IMEs), Field Visits with no advance appointment)
• Appealing ERISA denied or terminated claims;
• Litigating claims following Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies.

Awards

About Aetna Disability Insurance

Aetna is one of the country’s largest insurance companies, providing disability insurance along with a wide range of other insurance products. Aetna insures a vast number of Americans in all 50 states, with products targeted to small, mid-sized and large multi-site national employers. Founded in 1852 in Hartford Connecticut, Aetna also owns a large number of subsidiary companies, from a hedge fund to a health information exchange technology company.

In 2006, Aetna acquired the disability business of Broadspire, a large provider of disability insurance and casualty claim management services. The acquisition brought the number of Aetna disability insurance policy owners to 5 million long term and short term disability insurance policies.

In other words, Aetna is a large corporate entity within Hartford, an even larger corporate entity with virtually unlimited access to resources to protect its own interests. Policy owners whose claims have been denied or delayed often feel overwhelmed by the sheer size of this major corporation. They come to us because they know that this is one battle they cannot win on their own. Often, we are contacted by policy holders after they have tried and failed to appeal their disability insurance denial.

It’s important to understand that your denial of claim, termination of claim or the disability insurance company’s never-ending requests for more information, medical or financial, are not a reflection on you, your disability or the legitimacy of your claim. This is business-as-usual for Aetna and the other disability insurance companies.

If you have any doubts about your claim, remember that Aetna was investigated by California’s state insurance commissioner after its medical director said under oath in a lawsuit over a denial of health insurance coverage that he never looked at patients’ records when deciding whether to approve or deny coverage. The health insurance giant said it would fight the case and that the comments were out of taken out of context, but the case was settled with no details revealed by either party.

Who Should Represent Your Disability Claim Against Aetna?

We believe that best argument for working with Justin Frankel and Jason Newfield can be found in the reviews that both partners have received on websites like Avvo. They tell the story of the dedication, compassion and commitment the partners have for long-term and short-term disability insurance claimants. These unbiased and unprompted reviews provide a lot of insight into how the professionalism and the level of personal service that they and their staff provide.

Our Aetna Disability Success Stories

Following are some of our successful cases representing Aetna disability insurance policyholders:

• A client suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and many other debilitating illnesses and spent more than 14 years fighting to keep working as a CFO for a large company. His claim was denied by Aetna, based on the results of one cognitive study. The attitude was that he had worked for so many years, he must be looking for an easy way out. Nothing could be further from the truth. We took an aggressive approach to his appeal.
• A high income financial executive was denied by Aetna. The long term disability insurance company claimed that he was not disabled because his medical care was irregular. He suffered from anxiety/depression and alcohol abuse, and as is often the case with mental/nervous claims, his care did not follow the typical pattern of care and treatment. He was seeing a number of providers, and we pieced together his treatment to demonstrate that he was maintaining continuity of care. He is now back on claim.

Our Experienced Lawyers Will Pursue Your Aetna Disability Insurance Claim – Call Today!

Frankel & Newfield has represented many clients in actions against Aetna long term disability insurance and we work with many Aetna disability policyholders who have had their claims denied, delayed and terminated. If you need help with an Aetna disability claim, call our office toll-free at 1-877-LTD-CLAIM (877-583-2524).

Written By:

Jason A. Newfield - Disability Insurance Attorney

Jason Newfield is a founding partner of the disability insurance law firm Frankel & Newfield. He has spent the majority of his legal career advocating for the rights of disabled workers. He has lectured other professionals, worked on a Federal Advisory committee, and published many articles in the field of disability insurance claims and litigation.

Learn more about Jason | See Jason’s Publications