Insurance Company Terminates Benefits After Twenty Years of Payments - Can They Do That?

The plaintiff in the long-term disability case, a dental hygienist, became disabled following a car accident. She had been receiving total disability benefits since 1997, with her condition periodically reviewed by the insurer. In 2019, the insurer reclassified her as only partially disabled, based on her continued performance of some duties related to her occupation. This reclassification led to the legal dispute over her eligibility for total disability benefits under her insurance policy.The legal issue the District Court wrestled withg  was whether the claimant, under her insurance policy with RiverSource Life Insurance Company, was entitled to either partial or total disability benefits based on her medical conditions and their impact on her ability to work. Is the insurance company prevented ("estopped") from changing it mind after all of those years?The court examined the definitions of "partial disability" and "total disability" within the policy and how these definitions applied to the claimant's situation and medical evidence provided.This is the oral argument to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in this caseThese public domain recordings are brought to you by Ben Glass Law, a national long term disability and life insurance firm headquartered in Fairfax, VA.By making these recordings into a "podcast," we've made the listening easier for claimants, attorneys and claims adjusters alike. If long term disability or life insurance benefits have been denied, we'd love to review your denial letter and give you a strategy for moving forward. This is a free service and you can go here to begin submitting your denial letter.