Making a total and permanent disability claim isn’t designed to be easy. It’s surprisingly complicated to prove that an injury or illness is preventing you from being able to work as you once did.
If you believe you’re entitled to a TPD benefit, but your claim has been rejected by your insurer, don’t give up. It may be that your insurer or super fund provider has rejected your insurance claim in order to avoid making a payout.
What is a TPD Claim?
A TPD claim entitles you to a lump sum of money that will cover your expenses and living costs as a salary or wage would do.
Why Has My TPD Claim Been Rejected?
TPD claims can be refused for a whole host of reasons, many of which are out of your control. Some of the most common reasons for a claim rejection are:
- You don’t meet the disability outlines in your policy
- Your policy is no longer valid or active
- You haven’t provided adequate medical evidence
- You haven’t met work history requirements
Remember that this is from your insurer’s perspective, and may not be entirely accurate. For instance, the matter of medical evidence is a tricky topic. You may feel that you have provided all the evidence you could acquire, but it might still not be the exact information that your insurer needs to move forward with your case. As your insurer makes the ultimate decision, this can leave you in a frustrating situation.
How to Respond to a Dismissed Claim
If your insurance claim is refused, there is still hope. When you are no longer able to work for reasons that are out of your hands, it’s important that you fight for the benefits you are entitled to.
The first thing to do after a claim rejection is to dispute your insurer’s decision. You can do this by submitting a formal complaint to your insurance or superannuation provider.
Your insurer should have some sort of dispute resolution service set up on their website. This is the best place to go if you believe the final decision on your case was unfairly made.
You can also get in touch with the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is an independent body that offers fair and impartial service to people making complaints against a financial provider. You will be assigned a case handler, who will check that your complaint is something they can help you with.
No matter how you choose to handle the situation, seeking support from an expert in the industry will help you immensely. If you want to get past the claims process as quickly and painlessly as possible, a life insurance consultant can help you to do so. They can take control of the complexities of your case and guide you through the process.
At Life Matters Claims, we provide expert advice based on our own experience in handling dismissed TPD claims. Call us to discuss your situation with a member of our team today.