Standard Insurance Company

Your communication concerning [redacted] claim for Long Term Disability (LTD) Benefits with Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) has been forwarded to me for responseIn his correspondence to you, [redacted] expressed his concerns about the total duration of benefits paid to him during the own occupation periodHis policy states the following:Own Occupation Period: The first months for which LTD Benefits are paid.TEMPORARY RECOVERYYou may temporarily recover from your Disability and then become Disabled again from the same cause or causes without having to serve a new Benefit Waiting PeriodTemporary Recovery means you cease to be Disabled for no longer than the applicable Allowable Period See Definition Of Disability.AAllowable PeriodsDuring the Benefit Waiting Period: a total of days of recovery.During the Maximum Benefit Period: days for each period of recovery.BEffect Of Temporary RecoveryIf your Temporary Recovery does not exceed the Allowable Periods, the following will apply.The Predisability Earnings used to determine your LTD Benefit will not change.The period of Temporary Recovery will not count toward your Benefit Waiting Period, your Maximum Benefit Period or your Own Occupation PeriodNo LTD Benefits will be payable for the period of Temporary Recovery.No LTD Benefits will be payable after benefits become payable to you under any other disability insurance plan under which you become insured during your period of Temporary Recovery.Except as stated above, the provisions of the Group Policy will be applied as if there had been no interruption of your Disability[redacted] was accurate is that their temporary recovery as defined by the contract should not have counted towards his Own Occupation PeriodAs reflected in his correspondence, he returned to work full time from March 1, through May 25, (this information was also confirmed with his employer)No benefits were paid during this period of time which equates to a total of days [redacted] last day of his Own Occupation Period was September 14, Since his period of temporary recovery (days) should not have counted towards this, this date has now been extended through December 9, which reflects an additional days from the original September 14, dateI believe I have provided the information necessary to address [redacted] concerns and am closing this complaintYou may contact me directly with any additional questions or concerns you have.Sincerely,Giovani A***Giovanni A***Manager, Disability Benefits [redacted] Giovanni.A***@standard.comPlease see attached

Standard Retirement Services (“The Standard”) provides retirement plan administrative services for [redacted] ’s employerThese services include processing distributions Ms [redacted] requested a distribution that required spousal consentDue to what appears to be a miscommunication, Ms [redacted] became concerned that The Standard had lost her form, when, in fact, no spousal consent form had ever been received by The StandardFurther complicating the situation, Ms [redacted] reports she had trouble accessing our on-line distribution system We have checked our service records and confirmed that there were no system outages/issues reported during this period that would have affected Ms [redacted] ’s ability to request the formWe are working with Ms [redacted] to ensure she receives the distribution she requested Scott Santerre | Attorney

To Whom It May Concern,When Ms [redacted] filed her claim with The Standard, we approved her claim for a limited periodof time based upon guidelines generally accepted for her diagnosisAt the time of approval, weinformed her we would need additional medical information in order to extend her claim, as theinformation on file only supported disability for a limited period of time The nature of the condition reported by Ms [redacted] 's doctor is such that having a historicalrecord of the progression of her condition is essential to making an accurate claims decision.This is why we ordered several months-worth of records We declined extension of her claim, not because she had no diagnosis, but because, after havingthe information reviewed by a medical professional, we did not find her medical recordsdemonstrated she was unable to workWe have requested additional medical records, and weprovided instructions for appealing our decision in a letter to Ms [redacted] sent December 20,Additionally, according to our records, another manager explained the appeal process in aconversation with her on December Finally, on December 14, 2016, Ms [redacted] called The Standard and discussed her claim withher examinerTowards the end of the conversation, Ms [redacted] began raising her voice and usingprofanity, and her examiner concluded the conversation was no longer productiveAs a result, heterminated the phone callWhile we would like to be able to discuss claim decisions by phonewith all of our customers, Standard employees are allowed to end phone conversations if they areno longer productive I appreciate the opportunity to respond to Ms [redacted] 's complaintIf you feel I have failed toaddress any of her concerns, please feel free to contact me directly Sincerely,Rob C***Disability Benefits Manager

We are in receipt of your correspondence regarding the above captioned complaint The inquiry has been sent to our Employee Benefits Division disability manager, who is now reviewing it and will respondI appreciate your calling this matter to our attention Please feel free to contact me if you need anything further.Sincerely,Justin D [redacted] Vice President, External Affairs & Associate Counsel Standard Insurance Company [redacted] JD/js

Thank you for forwarding Ms***’s continued concerns We understand Ms***’s concernsIt is never our intent to intimidate anybodyHowever, we are required to remind claimants of their obligation to provide information truthfully At this time, Ms***’s claim has been paid and approved, and I do not see evidence that anything was done to intimidate herAs such, I will consider this matter resolved

Standard Retirement Services (The Standard) is a third-party recordkeeper for a retirement plan that is sponsored by [redacted] ’s employer As a third-party recordkeeper, we provide certain services for the plan sponsor, one such service is reviewing and determining hardship requests Under the contract we have with the plan sponsor, we are only allowed to approve hardships for a specific set of circumstances, of which [redacted] s request did not fall under and was subsequently denied Although The Standard is only able to approve a hardship for a limited number of situations, the plan sponsor has the final determination for any hardship request and they can approve a hardship for reasons outside of the specified reasons The Standard can approve for In situations such as this, where The Standard is unable to approve a request, we notify the plan sponsor of such and allow the sponsor to make any additional determination as they deem fit This request has been forwarded to the plan sponsor to determine if they would like to review and approve

Dear Ms***, Thank you for the opportunity to respond to [redacted] complaint about her experience with Standard Insurance Company (The Standard) Ms [redacted] expressed her belief that The Standard will not pay Short Term Disability (STD) insurance benefits that she has paid forShe alleges she enrolled for benefits that would begin days after the date she became Disabled, but that we have instead chosen to apply a 30-day waiting period for these benefitsShe also believes she was not adequately informed that this could happen Ms [redacted] participates in STD insurance through her employerHer employer, as the Policyholder, has elected a plan that states employees may apply for the 7-day waiting period planHowever, if they enroll for that plan more than month after their first day of work, any claim filed would be subject to a 30-day waiting period until the employee was insured for more than year Ms [redacted] enrolled in the 7-day waiting period plan in October, At the time she enrolled, she had been an employee of her employer for several yearsMs [redacted] filed her claim with us in March, Because she enrolled later than month following her date of hire, and because she had been insured for less than year, her claim was subject to the 30-day waiting period and not the 7-day waiting period Ms [redacted] enrolled for coverage through a vendor contracted by her employerThis vendor is not affiliated with The Standard, so we are unable to comment upon whether they provided her with information about the 30-day waiting periodHowever, information about the STD Group Policy, and all provisions of the Policy, are kept available to Ms***, and all her co-workers, through her employerThe Standard notified Ms [redacted] of the 30-day waiting period within days of receiving all of her claim information While I appreciate Ms [redacted] concerns, I believe The Standard processed Ms [redacted] claim according to her employer’s Group PolicyFurthermore, The Standard promptly notified Ms [redacted] of the longer waiting period once we had all of her claim information Once again, thank you for giving me the chance to respond to Ms [redacted] complaintIf you believe I have failed to address any of her concerns, please feel free to contact me Sincerely, Rob C [redacted] | Manager, Disability BenefitsStandard Insurance CompanyNW Tanasbourne Drive | Hillsboro, OR 97124Phone ext| | Fax [redacted] @standard.com | www.standard.com

The company still has failed to contact me in efforts to resolve this matterMy complaint remains unresolvedComplaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:Sincerely, [redacted]

Acknowledgment letter We are in receipt of your correspondence regarding the above captionedcomplaintThe inquiry has been sent to our Employee Benefits Division disabilitymanager, who is now reviewing it and will respond I appreciate your calling this matter to our attentionPlease feel free to contact me ifyou need anything further

***Please see attached response [redacted] January 27, Revdex.com STATION DR STE DUPONT WA ATTN: [redacted] *** RE: ID #: [redacted] COMPLAINT: [redacted] Dear Ms***: Receipt of your January 21, correspondence regarding the formal complaint filed by [redacted] against The Standard is acknowledgedWe are sorry to hear that [redacted] was concerned about a claim being filed under her name with our insurance companyAt The Standard, we strive to provide excellent customer service to our customersWhile we would very much like to respond to you directly regarding the mentioned claim, our records do not indicate an Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information has been receivedIn the absence of receiving the required HIPAA authorization, we are unable to communicate with your office directlyWe will review the information submitted to us and will respond to the complaint directly in a timely mannerSincerely, Sara H*** Quality Control Section Enclosure: Authorization for Release of Protected Health Information

***Please see attached letter [redacted] We are writing iu response to the complaint filed by [redacted] regarding her Short TermDisability (STD) claim with Standard Insurance Company (The Standard).As Ms [redacted] indicates in her complaint materials, her STD claim was closed for a period oftime while we were reviewing her file with the assistance of a Medical Consultant, andrequesting additional documentation from her medical providersOn February 9, adecision was made to extend Ms [redacted] claim, and a check for $2,was mailed to her thenext business dayHer claim is currently scheduled to remain open through February 14; 2016,at which time we will request additional information to determine if she remains eligible for STDBenefits Barring further communication from you or your office, we will assume we have adequatelyaddressed all issues in this complaint, and will consider the complaint closedIf you have anyadditional questions regarding the administration ofthis claim, please contact me at the numberindicated below

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meThe payment has been receivedThank youSincerely, [redacted]

November 20,2017RE: Complaint ID: [redacted] Complainant: [redacted] ***Insured: Same as aboveClaim#: [redacted] Group Name: [redacted] NAICNo: ***To Whom It May Concern:The Standard Benefit AdministratorsThis letter is in response to the November 18, complaint from [redacted] ***The GroupLong Term Disability (LTD) Policy under which [redacted] is covered was issued by TheStandard Benefit Administrators on behalf of Standard Insurance Company (The Standard)Thepolicyholder is the [redacted] and the policy is sitused in the state of [redacted] [redacted] was covered under this policy as an employee of the [redacted] [redacted] filed a complaint regarding the denial of her LTD claim [redacted] ceased work onMarch I 0, due to chronic severe pain in her neck, shoulders and back as well as chronicdepressionA review of her file, including but not limited to her medical records, concluded thatshe is not disabled as defined by the [redacted] Group PolicyTherefore, her LTDclaim was denied.We explained the denial decision to her in a letter dated October 4, This letter explained,in part, the following:"In conclusion, the available medical and vocational documentation on file at this time supportsthat you are capable of returning to work in your Own OccupationWe have completed the OwnOccupation review of your claim and have determined you are able to perform duties of youOwn OccupationAs such, we have determined that you do not meet the Definition of Disabilityfor Own OccupationThe [redacted] Group LTD policy has a Benefit WaitingPeriod of the longer ofdays or when sick leave endsThe Benefit Waiting Period means theperiod you must be continuously disabled before LTD Benefits become payableNo LTDBenefits are payable for the Benefit Waiting PeriodThe day Benefit Waiting Period ends onJune 08, Medical evidence does not support disability through the Benefit Waiting Periodand ongoingSince you have the capacity to perform your own occupation, you do not meet theGroup Policy's Own Occupation Definition of Disability and your claim is denied."This letter also explained [redacted] ***'s right to a review of our decision as follows:"If you want us to review this claim and this decision you must send us a written request withindays after you receive this letterIf you request a review, you will have the right to submitadditional information in connection with this claimAdditional information which would behelpful to submit would be medical evidence which supports that your condition causessymptoms of such a severity as to preclude you from working in your Own OccupationPleaseinclude any such new information along with your request for review.If you request a review, it will be conducted by an individual who was not involved in theoriginal decisionIf necessary, the person conducting the review will consult with a medicalprofessional with regard to this claimThe medical professional will be someone who was notpreviously consulted in connection with this claimThe review would be completed within 45days after we receive your request unless circumstances beyond our control require an extensionof an additional days.We want you to know that upon further investigation, other valid reasons for limiting or denyingthis claim, which have not been previous! y considered, could come to our attentionTherefore,The Standard reserves the right to consider and assert other reasons for limitation or denial ofthis claim should they occur in the future."To date, we have not received a request for review from [redacted] ***Please let us know if youwould like us to provide you with any additional information regarding this claimShould youhave any questions regarding this letter or [redacted] ***'s claim, please contact me at 1-800-426-X ***.Sincerely,Nicole S [redacted] Manager, Disability BenefitsThe Standard Benefit Administrators1-800-426-4332, ext***

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because: It is patently falseThe adjuster told me on the mentioned phone call without a diagnosis I was ineligibleThey shod releasr the transcript of the callThe answer does not address withheld payments until records were secured.
Sincerely,*** ***

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meI hope this problem is fixed and will not happen again. Sincerely, *** ***

Standard Retirement Services (“The Standard”) provides retirement plan administrative services for *** *** ***’s employerThese services include processing distributions. Ms*** requested a distribution that required spousal consentDue to what appears to be a
miscommunication, Ms*** became concerned that The Standard had lost her form, when, in fact, no spousal consent form had ever been received by The StandardFurther complicating the situation, Ms*** reports she had trouble accessing our on-line distribution system We have checked our service records and confirmed that there were no system outages/issues reported during this period that would have affected Ms***’s ability to request the formWe are working with Ms*** to ensure she receives the distribution she requested Scott Santerre | Attorney

We are writing in response to the complaint filed by *** *** regarding her Short TermDisability (STD) claim with Standard Insurance Company (The Standard).In her updated complaint materials Ms*** has requested that her claim be reevaluated in orderto determine whether additional STD Benefits are payableWe spoke with Ms*** on March21, 2018, explaining that her claim had been reevaluated and adjusted, and that a check for theapproptiate STD Benefits would be issuedI can confirm that this check was generated onMarch 21,and mailed the next day.Barring further communication from you or your office, we will assume we have adequatelyaddressed all issues in this complaint, and will consider the complaint closedIf you have anyadditional questions regarding the administration ofthis claim, please contact me at the numberindicated below.Lincoln * D***

Have an issue with a claimMy employer contracted the standard to provide STD services

To Whom It May Concern, We are writing in response to the inquiry from Mr***
***, ID ***. Every Short Term Disability (STD) check has attached an
Explanation of Benefits (EOB)The EOB notes the amount of the STD benefit and
details of any deductions, offsets, or amounts withheld from the STD benefit
(including withholdings of Social Security, Medicare and any Federal or State
Income Tax if applicable) Applicable
Federal and State Income Tax withholding is a service provided to our customers
and not a requirement of the disability policy In addition the initial
approval letter includes an explanation of taxes and their impact on a
claim. We acknowledge his frustration and do regret any
inconvenience caused; however, we are unable to accommodate the solution
proposed by Mr*** and he has been referred to external resources that we
expect would be able to provide additional assistance in resolving this
issue. Peter I***Manager, Employee Benefits