Can I sue a disability insurance company?

If you believe your mother’s claim for benefits was improperly denied, you can request an appeal with the insurance company and/or file a "bad faith" lawsuit against the company. Depending on the terms of your policy, the suit may be litigated in court or you may go to arbitration. If you do decide to sue, you will generally have to prove that their denial of the claim was improper. Under ERISA, a claim denial letter must contain four things: it must specify the policy provisions the company used to make the determination; it must describe any material or information you can provide to change the determination; and it must explain the process by which the claim was reviewed as well as what you need to do to appeal and time limits for appealing. If the claim denial letter did not contain these four pieces of information, or if the claim was denied inappropriately according to the definition of coverage in the policy, the company may be found legally liable for the denial. You should contact an experienced disability lawyer who can help you to determine if your mother’s disability insurance company acted improperly and whether you may have a case to sue.