I’ve been on LTD since March 2021 due to depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder and agoraphobia. During the COVID lockdowns, I took up a hobby sewing which is now a huge coping mechanism for me. A year prior to going off work on LTD, I had created a website and social media pages where I have my items displayed and available to be purchased. This by no means is a functioning business or registered business….it’s just a hobby. I created this to help sustain my hobby as the fabric and website fees are expensive. My sister and husband thought it would be a good idea to do some in person craft markets since I have an abundance of sewed goods and to try to recoup some money that we had spent into my hobby. I’m unable to participate in these markets because of my disabilities. I’ll also add that any of these activities are done during the evenings or weekends.
I have recently been contacted by my LTD insurance provider’s fraud management department telling me my file had been flagged for a “disability claim quality audit”. They were questioning me about all of this, asking all sorts of questions and they seem to think it’s an income generating business.
I’ve been asked to supply copies of my 2021 and 2022 income tax and assessments as well as my business records for 2021 and 2022 (which I don’t have because it’s not a business).
This has caused me much distress (I actually had a panic attack while on the phone with them) and I’m worried that my claim will be cut off or they’ll expect me to pay them money back.
I have no idea why all of a sudden this has happened but am thinking that I’m being targeted since I refused their RTW plan (as I wasn’t ready which my doctor agreed and still not ready) they’re now trying to find a way to cut my claim off.
They’ve given me until June 27th to provide them with the requested information.
I don’t feel I’ve done anything fraudulent but need some expert advice on my situation. Hope you can help?
Many thanks!