Attorneys Greg Dell and Rachel Alters talk about how to handle Sun Life long-term disability insurance appeals after a claim denial. They say Sun Life does reverse denials but success depends on strong medical documentation, objective testing and strategic preparation.
Rachel says when reviewing a denied claim the most important documents are the medical records and peer review reports written by Sun Life’s consulting doctors. She looks for what evidence Sun Life relied on, were their doctors qualified and did they communicate with the claimant’s treating physicians—often they don’t.
When building an appeal she looks for what’s missing (MRI, CT, nerve studies, functional capacity evaluations) and works with the claimant’s doctors to fill those gaps. A big part of her strategy is creating custom attending physician statements – detailed condition specific forms that allow doctors to explain a patient’s limitations and support disability rather than relying on Sun Life’s one page form.
Greg says this level of preparation—gathering tests, reports and detailed physician statements—is key because the appeal is the claimant’s trial. Once an appeal is denied no new evidence can be added in court. The lawyers say most people lose appeals when they try to handle them alone because they don’t know how to build a complete record that can withstand legal scrutiny.
They conclude by telling claimants with Sun Life denials to seek experienced legal help early because the appeal is the most critical phase in getting benefits.