I was just contacted by GENEX, Allsup, or another disability claim management company that offered free legal representation to help me with my Social Security claim. What are my rights?

GENEX, Allsup, and other disability claim management companies are hired by your long term disability benefits’ provider. Common long term disability (“LTD”) providers are:

• Aetna, AIG, Assurant, AXA Equitable, Bershire, Cigna, Colonial, Eastern Life & Health, Fort Dearborn Life, Guardian, The Hartford, ING, John Hancock, LifeWise, MetLife, Mutual of Omaha, New York Life, Principal, Prudential, Sunlife, Standard, Transamerica and Unum Provident, among others.

These LTD providers hire disability claim management companies to put themselves in a position to help recover your Social Security back benefits. It is also important to note that the “free legal service” is not always provided by attorneys. GENEX, Allsup, and other disability claim management companies, often offer the services of non-attorney advocates to help you with your Social Security claim. Just because your insurance company sent you papers does not mean you are required to sign up with these groups.

Even though you have already been contacted by GENEX, Allsup, or another disability claim management company, you should consider contacting an attorney that devotes a significant amount of his or her practice to Social Security cases. A Social Security attorney can better represent you and help you with your Social Security disability claim:

1. You want an attorney to represent you at a hearing. Many of these groups employ non-attorney representatives. Because these representatives are not attorneys, they are not held to the same level of supervision by state bar associations. They are also not held to the same level of strict confidentiality requirements. Most importantly, they have not dedicated their law practice to helping persons obtain Social Security disability benefits.
2. The services really aren’t “free.” Often times, you are receiving information from these companies because they have partnership agreements with the long term disability provider. They have an objective to win your case, but they equally have an objective to help recover money from your Social Security back benefits for the long term disability provider.
3. Hiring an independent Social Security attorney ensures that your representative works for you, not your insurance company. Confidentiality is important. Because of the close partnership relationship with your insurance company there is a very real conflict of interest that can develop. If your insurance company decides to terminate your benefits, you do not want to be in a situation where your representative might be feeding potentially harmful information to the LTD plan.

The Donati Law Social Security lawyers are experienced in the area of Social Security Disability law. With over 100 years of legal experience in Social Security matters, the attorneys of Donati Law can help you achieve results. The administrative process is complex, and the majority of people who apply for Social Security disability benefits are initially denied. Without the benefit of legal representation, the process can be overwhelming.