Joey Pollock

Welcome to my Facebook profile. Please stay tuned as I share important information and insights about insurance and disability law. Having your benefits cancelled or denied adds stress to an already stressful situation, and I am here to help. Let's talk and see if I can make your burden my burden. #disibilitylaw #insurancelaw #deniedinsuranceclaim

New Blog Post: "Can Insurance Companies Use Surveillance?" Yes. Absolutely. If you are advancing a claim for disability benefits, or your disability benefits are currently being paid, you should be aware that your insurer might be surveilling you to determine if your actions are consistent with your claim. Someone might be watching and video recording you at your child’s or grandchild’s hockey game, while on a walk at a park, swimming in a public pool, or while skiing in the... Rockies. While your insurer has a duty to pay you when you are disabled, it also has a responsibility to its shareholders to ensure that people are genuinely disabled. While there are occasions when insurers act in bad faith, there are also instances where people file bogus claims against insurers. Those people can make the claims process more difficult for those who file bona fide claims, resulting in the insurer taking actions surveillance as an example to ensure that they are only paying for valid claims. https://joeypollock.com/can-insurance-companies-use-survei/ #WinnipegLawyer #WinnipegDisabilityLawyer #WinnipegLifeInsuranceLawyer #JoeyPollock #JosephPollock

New Blog Post: "COVID, California and Insurance Coverage" For over a year, I had planned to take a month-long vacation to California. As luck would have it, it was slated for March 2020 right when COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) seemingly shut down the world. My family was supposed to rotate through visits with us over the month, however, things didn’t go as planned. I’ve practiced law for three decades and specialize in life insurance and disability claims that have been denie...Continue reading

New Blog Post: "Good Faith and Bad Faith: What do they mean and what should claimants expect?" In Canada, a disability and life insurance policy contains an implied contractual duty of good faith. These terms, though seemingly simple, are complex, so let’s start with the definitions and then move to what those two terms might mean to you. Good Faith n. honest intent to act without taking an unfair advantage over another person or to fulfill a promise to act, even when some le...Continue reading

New Blog Post - "Life and Disability Insurance Legal Fees: Contingency vs. Fee For Service" One of the first questions you likely want to be answered before deciding how to proceed is: How am I going to pay for legal services? In my practice, I offer my clients the option of entering into a contingency agreement or a fee-for-service agreement.... Contingency Agreement This arrangement provides that I will only get paid if I recover insurance proceeds on your behalf, either by way of a settlement or at trial. If I recover nothing, I do not get paid. My fee is based on a percentage of the amount recovered. Your only financial obligation to me in the case of a contingency agreement is to pay for my out-of-pocket expenses. For example, there is a fee payable at the court registry for filing a statement of claim. The claim must then be served on your insurer, and there is a cost paid to a process server to serve the claim. There might also be a scenario where we need to order medical reports or files from your treating physicians. Likewise, your insurer will likely charge for the reproduction costs of your claims file. All of these are considered out-of-pocket expenses and will be your responsibility to pay. Fee for Service This arrangement provides that I will be paid an hourly rate which is not in any way dependent on the outcome of the claim. In other words, you will be required to pay me for every hour of my time, regardless of whether I am able to recover any funds. Like a contingency agreement, you will also be responsible for the payment of all out-of-pocket expenses. If a lawsuit proceeds to trial, the successful party is normally awarded costs by the court, calculated based on a tariff contained in the court rules and unrelated to the actual legal fees of the lawyers. Whether you enter into a contingency agreement or a fee-for-service agreement, if your lawsuit proceeds to trial and you are unsuccessful, you might be ordered to pay the other party’s tariff costs. If I can leave you with this final thought: It is natural for you to want an immediate answer about the strengths and weaknesses of your case. Unfortunately, this is difficult for any lawyer to do without collecting all of the facts and reviewing your claim file. During my initial discussion with you, I hope to cover a lot of ground and answer as many of your questions as I can. I will not pretend to have all of the answers at that time, however, should you like to proceed to the next step, I will do what is necessary so that you can make an informed decision as to how you would like to proceed. #WinnipegLawyer #WinnipegDisabilityLawyer #WinnipegLifeInsuranceLawyer #JoeyPollock

New Blog Post: "What to do when a life or disability claim is denied, and it gets 'personal'" I know that when your claim was denied, your first reaction was likely a desire to call up the claims adjuster to give him or her a piece of your mind. You likely want to threaten the insurer with litigation if they continue to deny your claim. I know that the denial has been a personal affront to you and that you are likely emotional and upset by what has occurred. You might feel th...Continue reading

New Blog Post: "Legal Terms 101" The following is a list of terms you might come across during the claims and litigation process: Total Disability Short-Term Disability (STD Benefits) STD insurance pays a percentage of your regular wages for a period generally ranging from three to six months. There is generally a waiting period between the occurrence of the disability and when the payment of STD Benefits begins ranging from zero to seven days. The definition of disabil...Continue reading