According to the AARP, 200 million disability claims are rejected every year in the United States. There are a variety of reasons why an insurance company may deny a claim, but there are measures that can be taken to combat disability insurance claim denial.

Based on statistical research, five courses of action have been identified to help an individual if their disability insurance claim is denied.

Five Steps to Combat a Disability Insurance Claim Denial

Step 1: The first step is to identify why the disability insurance claim was denied. If a claim is denied when first filed, the policyholder should contact their insurance company or hospital as soon as they receive their Statement of Benefits.

Step 2: The second course of action the claimant must take is to enlist a support group of advocates to speak on his or her behalf. These can include doctors, hospital representatives, Medicare and Medicaid representatives — essentially any medical expert related to the disability insurance policy holder who is able to provide additional expert testimony on the claimant’s behalf.

It is important to ask for regular updates from these advocates regarding their communications with the insurance company, and then confirm with the insurance company whether or not they submitted the testimony correctly. A doctor may need to write a letter of medical necessity to the insurance company, which specifies the claimant’s diagnosis, recommended treatment, the length of treatment time, and confirms that the amount of money needed for the claim is justified. Essentially, this letter explains how vital the treatment would be for the claimant.

Step 3: The third step is to re-apply when the disability claim is denied. Insurance companies will eventually be forced to add the claimant as a loss to their profits. Reportedly, insurance companies use auditing software, often called “claim review programs” to sort through millions of submitted claims. These auditing programs are designed to find technical errors in billing codes that all doctors, hospitals, clinics, and other medical facilities submit for payments. Due to the purpose of these programs, many legal experts have dubbed these programs “denial engines,” due to the fact that they help insurance companies avoid paying money to hospitals and doctors.

From this piece of information, the odds of approval become higher once the policyholder reapplies for the disability insurance claim. After a claim is resubmitted a certain number of times, it becomes less of a liability for the insurance company to deny the older claim, because a newer one may be easier to deny as it is more likely to include some of those technical errors.

Step 4: The fourth step is to keep everything electronically filed and keep orderly documentation of all transactions. As mentioned earlier, most claims are denied because of scattered pieces of information or miscommunications with insurance company representatives. This essentially means that the claimant should keep a record of all email and any correspondence that comes in the mail. The policyholder should ask how the claim was filed and who will be reading the claim, and ask for a copy of the filing.

Step 5: The fifth and final step for the claimant is to establish the price of the treatment that was denied. Most commonly, insurance companies deny claims based on how much the treatment for the claimants will cost.

While not foolproof, these tactics will help prepare a claimant’s argument to receive benefits, as well help prepare for any future Unum class action lawsuits or lawsuits against other insurance companies.

While filing an Unum class action lawsuit may be the last thing someone wants to face, in some cases it might be necessary if none of the above steps work.