According to the Health Insurance Association of America, one in three of us between the ages of 35 and 65 is likely to suffer a disabling incident lasting at least 90 days sometime during our careers. What disabling events can put a career off track? Problem pregnancies, broken arms, and anxiety conditions, to name just a few.

Because most employer-issued disability insurance policies provide only a percentage of salary and put caps on benefits, many people purchase private disability insurance policies to fill the income gap.

Bad Faith

When insurers arbitrarily terminate promised payments on policies clients have been paying premiums on for years, our civil justice system can provide plaintiffs with recourse.

A venture capitalist who paid premiums on a guaranteed renewable disability insurance policy for many years became disabled. Although the insurer paid benefits for a year, underwriters subsequently determined that a “lack of objective medical evidence” showed its client’s chronic fatigue syndrome was not authentic and stopped payments. The insured man asked for ways he could prove his disability, even offering to take any medical tests the insurer requested. The insurer declined. The venture capitalist sued his insurer and its holding company for breach of contract, bad faith, and lost benefits. After hearing all evidence, a jury awarded the plaintiff damages against the insurer and significant punitive damages against the holding company.