Insurers Push for In-Person Health Exams for Disability Claims

The global pandemic has created a new opportunity for insurance companies to deny people long-term disability benefits, putting patients in the difficult position of deciding whether to risk losing their benefits or chance catching a life-threatening disease.

Benefits attorneys say they’re seeing more requests from insurers for in-person medical exams and evaluations during a public health crisis that’s limited the number of doctors available and forced many businesses to shut down in an effort to curb the deadly virus.

It’s an easy way for insurers to deny or terminate disability benefits if the request is refused, attorneys say, but it ...