The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

CNA Financial Corporation Denies Elderly Long-term Care Insurance Claims

Leslie Watkins, Intern

The Cochran Firm

Long-term care insurance policies purchased by the elderly who depend on the benefits of these policies to offset the costs of assisted living expenses and other healthcare related costs received denied claims from CNA Financial Corporation (CNA) and its subsidiary Continental Casualty Company. Benefits of the long-term care insurance policies help the elderly pay for personal care and lighten the burden of expensive health care costs when they can no longer safely take care of their own personal needs. CNA denied the coverage of long-term care benefits of the elderly causing two major pending class action lawsuits in the states of California and Connecticut. 

              

Elderly affected by denied claims of CNA long-term care policies

In Connecticut, a 91-year-old woman Marie L. Gardner, a policyholder of CNA, living in an assisted living facility, was denied benefits from her long term care policy – the same policy she has been paying premiums on for over 15 years. Gardner filed the claim after she fractured her hip.

CNA is now facing a class action lawsuit with Gardner and other policyholders living in assisted living facilities in Connecticut after the company denied the monthly benefits of the policyholders. Allegedly, CNA claimed benefits covered only assisted living facilities with a nurse on the premises 24 hours a day. Gardner submitted a claim a few years prior where she was able to receive benefits while at the same assisted living facility. CNA denied Gardner’s claim once her condition improved slightly.

William Crawford, a former sailor in the U.S. Navy, did not receive his benefits covered in CNA’s long-term care policy along with others and filed a class lawsuit against CNA in California. As most people do when experiencing a loved one’s health decline with limited means of paying for personal care, Crawford purchased a long-term care policy with CNA to assist with the financial burden of paying for his personal care in later years. Crawford submitted claims, denied by CNA, to supplement the cost for his personal care while recovering from hip surgery and physical therapy. Even after extensive paperwork submitted by his care providers and medical doctor from May 2012 to December 2012 providing proof of Crawford’s need for assistant care and being legally blind, the claims remained denied by CNA. Due to the delay of benefits from CNA, Crawford absent any other assets to pay for his personal care reduced the hours of care he needed to meet his daily living expenses.

 What can I do to prevent denied claims for long-term care insurance?

To prevent being a victim of denied benefits from a long-term care insurance policy, always work with a knowledgeable advisor you trust who is willing to answer all of your questions and provide the information needed to make the best decision for your financial situation. Even before you choose to purchase a long-term care policy, it is best to consult with an attorney to secure the needed coverage and to consider the costs of paying an insurance premium.  An attorney can help you understand your new or existing policy with your best interests in mind to provide the knowledge needed to prevent claim denials that often stem from over looking the fine print of long-term care insurance policies.

The article is based on the pending class action lawsuits of Gardner v. CNA Financial Corporation and Crawford v. Continental Casualty Company as of 01/19/15.

For more information on denied claims of CNA, Click the link below: http://www.kare11.com/story/news/investigations/2014/11/03/war-hero-insurance-battle-kare-11-investigates/18421215/