LPP REPORT
Improving legal
protection
procedures
In May, we had the opportunity to have
meetings with over 100 of our LPP law firms.
State Delegate Meg Hammond, the committee and I went over the “nuts and bolts” of
the plan, received some great input from the
attorneys and explained the procedures for
opening, maintaining and closing claims.
There were some great suggestions including the creation of a “list serve” that will allow
our attorneys to exchange ideas and information including
experiences with arbitrators, experts and tactics. We already
have started that ball in motion, and will have it running by
the time you read this article.
One of the universal complaints we received in all of the
sessions was the members’ inability to obtain claim forms
from the state delegates. One of the rules of the plan always
has been that the delegate must supply a copy of the claim
form, filled out and signed by the delegate to both the President and the member and the Local President; unfortunately, both have gotten away from that procedure.
The purpose of the claim form is twofold; it both lets the
lawyer know that the delegate has enrolled the member and
there is a reasonable expectation that the matter is covered,
and that we know in the plan office that the leadership is
aware of the issue and has attempted to intervene, if practicable.
That said, we will be strictly adhering to the policy of
the member obtaining a fully executed claim form prior to
meeting with a plan attorney except in emergency situations
such as shootings, crashes and other like events. I also have
instructed the attorneys to contact me if there are special
circumstances to insure that our members get the coverage
that they deserve and require.
Please make sure you have access to claim forms both in
hard copy and through the intranet to assist us with expediting the administration of our members’ claims. d
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