Completing your ERISA application is one of the most crucial form filling exercises you will do in your life. In your eagerness to file your claim, it can be easy to make mistakes that see your claim delayed or denied.
Here are a few common mistakes people make when filing their ERISA claim:
- Leaving it to your human resources department: It can be great when someone offers to help with something you do not understand. Yet, your HR team is unlikely to have much experience with these applications. It is your future at stake, not theirs, so you need to ensure you invest your time and effort.
- Failing to have enough evidence to support your claim: It is better to have too much evidence than too little. Every time the insurer has to write back to tell you something is missing, it is another delay to your claim.
- Failing to follow your doctor’s orders: If your medic tells you to stay in bed for a month, do so. If they tell you you should not lift heavy items, get someone else to load the shopping into the car. Many people have lost their disability insurance claim because an investigator employed by the insurance company has filmed them doing something they were supposedly unable to do.
ERISA claims are incredibly complicated. That is why some attorneys dedicate their time solely to helping people file disability claims. Trying to go it alone, using the family attorney, or choosing someone just because they are cheap, could lose you the benefits you need. When it comes to filing your disability claim, aim to do it once and do it well.