Tips for making a successful TPD claim

1. Tips for making a successful TPD claim If you need to make a TPD claim, it’s because you’ve been injured, or become sick to the point that you’re no longer able to work. That TPD claim is critical to you – and your family’s – ongoing financial health and stability. For that reason it’s vitally important that you determine what insurance you’re entitled to. Always engage with fully qualified TPD Lawyers, early on in the process. We often see people come to us with very large TPD coverage who actually have no idea that they’ve even got the policy. It’s just too important to miss out on. 1) Firstly, understand what TPD is and whether you qualify for it. The definition of TPD can actually vary, depending on the policy, and you’ll need to know the differences in order to understand whether you quality. One type of TPD insurance is called “Any”. An “Any” occupation TPD policy means that, for you to be eligible to the insurance payout, you need to be deemed unfit for to do any work, according to your education, training, or experience. If you’re injured in one job, but able to do another, then you don’t qualify for the payment. The second kind of TPD insurance is “Own”. This is a far better policy for most people, because it means that if you’re rendered unfit for the specific job that you were undertaking at the time that you were injured or fell ill, you are eligible for the payout. 2) Understand the claim form TPD claims start with the claim form, and you’ll want to have fully qualified TPD lawyers on hand to help you with this process. Each claim form is unique, but the information that will be required of you will be fairly standard across them. What you need the qualified TPD lawyers for is to make sure you provide enough information. Too little and the insurer will struggle to make a determination on your case.

2. Exaggeration might also make the claim difficult. For example, some insurers require that you provide a list of pre-disability employment, as this indicates to the insurer other roles that you might be qualified for. We often see people treat this like a resume, and provide misleading information that makes them look good, but only convinces the insurer they’re capable of doing a job they may well not be capable of. 3) Collect the right medical evidence together Medical evidence is obviously critical to the TPD claim process. Here, too, having fully qualified TPD lawyers on your side is critical. Doctors need to understand the information that they need to provide through their reports to meet the needs of the insurance companies. As an example – if you have a pre-existing injury, and then acquire a second injury that prevents you from being able to do your job, your doctor needs to include the pre-existing injury in the report to explain why you might not be able to undertake an alternative job. 4) Collect supplemental evidence to further help your case One of the biggest benefits of having experienced TPD lawyers in your corner is that they will understand what additional information will help get your claim over the line. Often this is material that you may never have thought of. Your lawyer will collect this into what is called a statement of evidence, and present in on your behalf to further substantiate your claim. 5) Be prepared to chase your insurer Insurance companies hate paying out on policies, and have internal and external processes that can greatly delay the payout of a policy. Even if you’ve presented a complete and comprehensive claim, the insurance company will likely sit on it. Having experienced TPD lawyers on hand can help greatly in ensuring that the insurers can’t drag their heels. 6) Understand what to do if your claim is rejected Following on from the above, in many cases an insurance company will find cause to reject a claim. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be able to get the payout in the end, though. It may be that you simply need to provide further evidence, and once you do that you’ll be able to have your claim re-assessed. At other times, the TPD lawyer that you’ve recruited will be able to look at precedents and previous court determinations to find similar cases to take to the insurer to recommend a review. 7) Finally, know when taking the matter to court is worthwhile There are times where, even after submitting comprehensive and complete claims, the insurance company will still refuse to pay it out. At that time, the only option is to take it to court. Before you do that, though, you need to determine whether you want to run the risk of losing, because if you do, you may by liable to pay the insurer’s legal costs – and that can easily exceed $100,000. Consulting with your experienced TPD lawyers is essential to determine whether your case has grounds to fight in court, and what the potential implications might be to you and your family. Making a TPD claim involves more than filling out a form, and then launching court proceedings if the insurer doesn’t pay out. At each step of the way, you’ll need to navigate a great deal of legal complexity. For this reason, you should be approaching experienced and highly qualified TPD lawyers, such as Schofield King Lawyers, as early into the process as possible.