John Hancock Long Term Care is a Scam!

[tlmarketing]

As an agent, I never sold LTC as I just did not believe in its value....and my beliefs have now been confirmed!

I have a family member who is terminally ill, and you think that it would be a relatively simple process to qualify under the policy...think again!

It used to be said that John Hancock hardly ever raised their rates....for good reason because they stonewall your claims..

Hey John Hancock - **CK OFF!!

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Sounds like your family member had as much fun as my brother did getting is disability checks after a stroke so major that he could not move or speak.

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

I have a family member who is terminally ill, and you think that it would be a relatively simple process to qualify under the policy...think again!

I'm sorry to hear about your relative, but contrary to your statement, qualifying for LTC services IS a relatively simple process.

There are 2 ways to qualify for benefits:
1) Require assistance in performing any 2 of the 6 activities of daily living for a minimum of 90 days or,
2) Have a diagnosis of a cognitive impairment, when help is required to protect the policyholder's safety & welfare.

The way to qualify for benefits are clearly stated in Hancock's policy. A diagnosis of "terminally ill" by itself is not enough of a reason to qualify.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but as with any insurance product, nothing is hidden, it's in the contract.

 

[Bob_The_Insurance_Guy]

I have a family member who is terminally il....

Does this terminal illness:

• prevent them from getting in and out of bed
• prevent them from feeding/bathing themselves
• prevent them from getting on/off the toilet
• prevent them from transferring from one seat to another

if the answer is YES, grab an attorney, then sit back and watch the insurance company wriggle. If the answer is NO, then they do not qualify for LTCi benefits, yet.

 

[tlmarketing]

Arthur,

You may be the LTC expert, but I can tell you from experience with this family member, that John Hancock has made this anything but easy! Your statement is 100% wrong in this case!

I understand the 6 Activities of Daily Living and the need to qualify for 2 of 6....and also understand that terminal illness in itself is not a qualifying event.

From the intake people at hancock to the independent contractors used to evaluate the insured, to having received incorrect information on multiple occasions from John Hancock employees, you can say what you like, but the ACTUAL experience we have had with John Hancock is terrible.

It seems like this is the "deny until they die" claims process.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

I'll agree with tlm and Bob. Only when my brother (an attorney himself) hired an attorney did he magically start receiving checks. The entire process was over 9 months.

 

[leevena]

As an agent, I never sold LTC as I just did not believe in its value....and my beliefs have now been confirmed!

I have a family member who is terminally ill, and you think that it would be a relatively simple process to qualify under the policy...think again!

It used to be said that John Hancock hardly ever raised their rates....for good reason because they stonewall your claims..

Hey John Hancock - **CK OFF!!

I am truly sorry for your situation, but don't you think you went a little overboard with your post and it's tone? Surely there are carrier staff who are members and posts like these do not help.

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

You may be the LTC expert, but I can tell you from experience with this family member, that John Hancock has made
this anything but easy! Your statement is 100% wrong in this case!
I understand the 6 Activities of Daily Living and the need to qualify for 2 of 6....and also understand that terminal illness in itself is not a qualifying event.
From the intake people at hancock to the independent contractors used to evaluate the insured, to having received incorrect information on multiple occasions from John Hancock employees, you can say what you like, but the ACTUAL experience we have had with John Hancock is terrible.
It seems like this is the "deny until they die" claims process.

Understand that I am not here to defend John Hancock or any carrier. I will only say that in 16 years of selling LTCi and being involved with dozens of policyholder's claims, I have never had a situation where someone legitimally qualified for benefits but was denied. (other than 2 cases with Conseco, but that's another story)

Now, that doesn't mean a claims department doesn't make a mistake or for whatever reasons unjustifiably denies a claim.

And, if you feel that's the case here, then I certainly agree with you, Bob & John, that you need to start an appeal with Hancock and if that doesn't work, hire an attorney. There is no room in the industry for any company giving a policyholder a hard time when filing a claim.

The industry does not need any more Consecos or Bankers Life.

Just out of curiousity, what was their reason for denial?

 

[tlmarketing]

I am truly sorry for your situation, but don't you think you went a little overboard with your post and it's tone? Surely there are carrier staff who are members and posts like these do not help.

No, I meant what I said and said what I meant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Understand that I am not here to defend John Hancock or any carrier. I will only say that in 16 years of selling LTCi and being involved with dozens of policyholder's claims, I have never had a situation where someone legitimally qualified for benefits but was denied. (other than 2 cases with Conseco, but that's another story)

Now, that doesn't mean a claims department doesn't make a mistake or for whatever reasons unjustifiably denies a claim.

And, if you feel that's the case here, then I certainly agree with you, Bob & John, that you need to start an appeal with Hancock and if that doesn't work, hire an attorney. There is no room in the industry for any company giving a policyholder a hard time when filing a claim.

The industry does not need any more Consecos or Bankers Life.

Just out of curiousity, what was their reason for denial?

The first time the claim was filed in November and denied. She needed help with 1 out of 6 at the time, and the 2nd was borderline....we understood this and knew that this would most likely be the outcome but were told to file claim to help establish timeframe for elimination period, etc..and JH knowing that we would refile claim at later date.

We have refiled claim as of last week...no outcome yet. As far as activities of Daily living, there are definitely 2 that cant be done, and a 3rd is borderline now.

My frustration is with the process...mistakes made by jh this time around, intake process twice, given wrong information about establishing the date for when the 90 day elimination started, etc...

 

[Arthur Rudnick]

The first time the claim was filed in November and denied. She needed help with 1 out of 6 at the time, and the 2nd was borderline....we understood this and knew that this would most likely be the outcome but were told to file claim to help establish timeframe for elimination period, etc..and JH
knowing that we would refile claim at later date.
We have refiled claim as of last week...no outcome yet. As far as activities of Daily living, there are definitely 2 that cant be done, and a 3rd is borderline now.

My frustration is with the process...mistakes made by jh this time around, intake process twice, given wrong information about establishing the date for when the 90 day elimination started, etc...

I understand your frustration, but by your own account she did not qualify in November. You can't blame Hancock when you state that she only needed help with 1 of 6 ADLs.

You have just refiled last week. There has been no decision reached yet. I fail to see where Hancock has done anything wrong. In fact, they seem to be of help to you in requesting that a claim be filed, even though everyone knew that it would denied, but it was done in order to establish a timeframe.

If, as you claim that 2 or 3 ADLs are now the issue, it's more than likely she will now qualify for benefits.

You state that your frustration is due to mistakes made by Hancock. Yet your original post claimed that Hancock was trying to screw you by denying a legitimate claim, which does not appear to be case. And, it's a far cry from your posted title of "John Hancock Long Term Care is a Scam!"

I'm not an attorney, but I don't believe you're going to find a lawyer on the planet that will sue a company for a "mistake".

Again I see where you're coming from and I understand your frustratioin but personally, I don't see an issue here, and I certainly don't see Hancock "stonewalling" your relative's claim.

Just my opinion.............