“My claim has been denied – when should I hire a long-term disability attorney?”
You should hire an attorney as soon as you receive a denial letter. You only have one or two opportunities to provide new evidence to the insurance company during the appeal process, and this information should be drafted to respond to specific items or issues in the insurer’s claim file. If these appeals fail, the federal courts typically do not permit any new information to be provided.
If you wait until your final appeal has been denied by the insurance company to hire an attorney, you may have already lost your claim.