Disability Settlement Attorney

The lawyers at Disability Insurance Law Group have represented countless clients in the negotiation of lump sum buy-outs for their disability insurance policies. Our experience in such negotiations with almost every major insurance company provides us with the skills necessary to vigorously assert our clients' rights and to understand how insurance companies assess the value of each claim. We are dedicated to maximizing the buy-out price of our clients' policies

How the Insurance Companies Work 

The insurance business is a risk shifting industry. Policyholders buy insurance contracts and pay premiums to protect themselves in case of a career affecting disability. Insurance companies sell contracts and collect premiums, with the hope that a claim will never be made or there will be a reason that a claim will not have to be paid out. Both parties are taking a risk. Once an insurance company is forced to provide benefits under a policy, the insurance company is losing profit.

If a claim is prepared effectively, causing the insurance company to contemplate the long-term payment under the policy, often insurance companies will be interested in buying out the policy for a single lump-sum amount in order to cut its losses. Moreover, during intense claim investigations, often the insurance company will entertain a global settlement of the claim in order to avoid the expense of litigation after a denial of payment or a delay in rendering a determination. Sometimes insurance companies will approach claimants with an offer. Other times, claimants tired of continually having to provide documentation of their disability or for estate of financial planning purposes wish to approach their insurance companies to obtain a buy-out of their policies.

How a Disability Insurance Law Group Attorney Can Help

The attorneys at Disability Insurance Law Group have represented countless clients in buy-out negotiations with their insurance carriers. We collaborate with actuaries, financial consultants, medical experts, and treating physicians to prepare and present our clients' claims to the insurance companies. We work diligently and aggressively in an effort to negotiate for our clients the maximum buy-out price for their policies.

Frequently, a claimant will come to us at a stage in their claim that is not conducive to obtaining the full buy-out value of their policy. Often a claimant's treating physicians have not provided the insurance carrier with the right information or the expected duration of the claimant's disability is unclear. In such situations, we work closely with our clients, their physicians, and medical experts to optimize their claims in an effort to strengthen our clients' chance of increasing the value of their claims.

Insurance companies have their own formulas for assessing the value of an insured's disability income policy and claim. As such, it is essential that if you are considering a buy-out of your disability insurance policy, you choose an attorney that has experience in the process and understands the formula and factors that your insurance carrier is utilizing to determine the value of your claim. The attorneys at Disability Insurance Law Group have negotiated buy-outs with most of the major disability insurance companies and third party administrators. Our experience helps us to understand their valuation methodology.

Buy-out Valuation Considerations 

There are multiple factors involved in an insurance company's assessment of the value of a disability income policy and claim. These factors include, but are not limited to:

• Life expectancy;
• Mortality;
• Current corporate bond and interest rate;
• The expected duration of total or partial disability;
• The insured's definition of disability;
• The duration of the policy;
• The duration of the claim;
• The amount that the insurance company reserves for the policy;
• Cost of living increases, if provided for in the policy; and
• The present value of future benefits under the policy;

Present Versus Future Values of Settlements 

Insurance companies will typically offer a lump-sum settlement that is discounted to present value dollars. Essentially, the present value is the amount of money an insurance company must pay today to purchase a corporate bond or annuity that will accrue over the duration of the policy into the total amount of future benefits at current interest rates. For this reason, the present value of the policy is always less than the future value. As such, an insurance company will typically not buy-out a policy for the full amount of present value, as there is no financial incentive to do so. However, by presenting the factors listed above, we negotiate with insurance companies in an effort to maximize the strengths of our client's claim and the buy-out value of the policy. Our clients are always free to accept or deny any offermade by their insurance company, and we work closely with our clients to determine if an offer makes sense for them and their families.

Learn More about Lump Sum Settlements 

We encourage you to contact our office for a free consultation if you are interested in pursuing a lump sum buy-out of your claim or if you have been approached by your insurance company for a buy-out. We would be happy to discuss your claim and explore whether your insurance company's offer reflects the true buy-out value of your policy. The attorneys at Disability Insurance Law Group
are dedicated to making every effort to maximize our clients' buy-out price and work closely with actuaries, financial consultants, medical experts, and treating physicians to meet this goal.

View an article written by Alicia Paulino-Grisham, published in Dental Economics discussing a lump sum buy out of her client's policy.

Disability Insurance Law Group
(a partnership of Flowers Paulino-Grisham, P.L. and Chmielarz & Smith, P.A.)
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TOLL FREE NATIONWIDE: 1-888-644-2644
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Palm Beach (Lantana)
1111 Hypoluxo Road
Suite 110
Lantana, FL 33462
561-202-9170
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Dade: (Miami Lakes)
5803 NW 151st Street
Suite 200A
Miami Lakes, FL 33014
305-820-0800
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Broward: (Presidential Circle, Hollywood)
4151 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, FL 33021
954-351-7688
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1111 Hypoluxo Road
Suite 110
Lantana, FL 33462
Telephone: 561-202-9170

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Toll Free: 1-888-644-2644