When you can’t work because of a physical injury or mental illness, you should be able to access your long-term disability (LTD) policy to get financial support when you need it the most.
What often happens in my experience as a disability lawyer, however, is that your insurance provider may move to deny your claim for benefits — even if your disability has been documented by medical professionals.
That’s when my firm, Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, gets involved. Our team can take control of the situation to force your insurer to provide the compensation you’re owed while you focus on recuperating.
The compensation we get for clients is usually tied to the value of the benefits that would have been owed under the disability policy. This amount is what’s known as contractual damages.
Sometimes, however, our clients encounter aggressive or bullying behaviour from the insurance adjuster in the course of making their claims.
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In those cases, you may be entitled to additional damages from the insurer. These additional damages fall into two categories: aggravated and general damages, and punitive damages.
Aggravated and general damages are designed to compensate a victim for injuries caused by an insurer’s wrongful conduct.
Punitive damages are intended to punish the insurance company for what the law calls malicious, oppressive and high-handed conduct.
These types of damages may be triggered by any number of wrongful actions by an insurer, including failing to consider relevant medical evidence, denying benefits without a reasonable basis, not notifying you of their decision to refuse your claim, providing untruthful evidence or misleading you during the claims process.
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In a 2018 case out of B.C., Desjardins Financial Security Investments was forced to pay $30,000 in aggravated damages to the plaintiff because the insurer ignored all of the available evidence and even failed to abide by tests for disability set out in the insurance policy.
Although punitive damages are not commonly awarded, recent cases have shown that Canadian courts are willing to do so when appropriate. A total of $200,000 in punitive damages was awarded against Penncorp Life Insurance to a claimant in Ontario in 2014 after the claims advisor was found to have taken an adversarial approach and handled the matter in a malicious way.
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It’s easy for individuals to assume that they are powerless against their disability insurers. You may feel that nothing can be done once you’ve exhausted the appeal process recommended — and controlled — by the insurance company. But you usually have legal recourse.
In our experience, the legal process is the most powerful way to hold insurance companies to account. Through legal means, you can force your insurer to pay you what you are owed, and sometimes more, if the insurer acted in a particularly harmful and unjust manner.
This is why I recommend a free consultation with a disability lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP if your disability claim is denied. Our experienced disability law firm can review the insurance company’s conduct, inform you of your legal rights and pursue the appropriate damages — all without setting foot in a courtroom in most cases.
Long-term disability claim denied? Having problems with your insurance adjuster?
Contact the firm or call 1-855-821-5900 to secure assistance from a long-term disability lawyer in Ontario, Alberta or British Columbia. Get the advice you need — and the compensation you deserve — from the most positively reviewed disability law firm in Canada.
Jenson K. Leung is a disability and employment lawyer at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP, one of Canada’s leading law firms specializing in employment law and disability claims. The firm provides free advice through Canada’s only Disability Law Show on TV and radio.