It sounds like something out of a bad spy novel. You’re at home in Minnesota or North Dakota, recovering from a surgery or managing a chronic condition, and someone is sitting in a nondescript car at the end of your block with a long-lens camera. It feels paranoid. It feels invasive. But for many Long-Term Disability claimants, it is a cold reality.
Private insurance companies are in the business of profit. Every month they pay you is a month they lose money. To tip the scales back in their favor, they often employ “investigative” tactics that are designed to catch you in a single moment of “wellness” that they can then use to cancel your benefits forever.
The “Good Day” Trap
Most disabilities aren’t static. You have good days and you have terrible days. On a good day, you might feel well enough to walk to the mailbox or carry a light bag of groceries from the car.
The insurance investigator isn’t looking for the six days you spent in bed. They are waiting for that one afternoon where you look “normal.” They will film you lifting your toddler or reaching for a high shelf, and then they’ll present that 30-second clip to a medical reviewer as “proof” that you’ve been exaggerating your limitations. They don’t include the part where you had to lie down for four hours afterward because of the physical toll that one task took on your body.
The “Independent” Medical Exam (IME)
Another common hurdle is the mandatory medical exam. The insurance company will call it an “Independent Medical Exam,” but there is nothing independent about it. These doctors are frequently on the insurance company’s payroll.
Unlike your treating physician in St. Paul or Bismarck, who has known you for years, an IME doctor might spend only fifteen minutes with you. They often perform “cursory” exams—asking you to bend or lift—while ignoring your history of pain or fatigue. We have even seen cases where investigators surveil a client specifically on the day of their IME, hoping to catch them walking into the building more easily than they “performed” inside the doctor’s office.
Social Media: Your Digital Footprint is Evidence
In 2025, your Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts are the first places an adjuster looks. They are searching for any “inconsistency.”
If you post a photo from three years ago of you hiking, they may treat it as if it happened yesterday. Even a post about a family dinner can be twisted; they might argue that if you were “socializing,” your depression or anxiety isn’t as severe as you claim. Our advice to clients is always the same: set your accounts to the highest privacy settings possible, or better yet, stop posting entirely until your claim is resolved. In the eyes of an insurance lawyer, there is no such thing as an “innocent” photo.
The “Paper Only” Review
Sometimes, they don’t even bother to see you in person. They hire a doctor to do a “file review.” This doctor looks at your medical records and simply disagrees with your own specialist. They might “cherry-pick” one normal lab result from a sea of abnormal tests to justify a denial. This is a common tactic used for “subjective” conditions like fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, or mental health disorders where there isn’t always a “broken bone” to show on an X-ray.
How We Fight Back
At Schneider Law Firm, we know how to discredit these “spy” tactics. We help our clients document the aftermath of their activities—the “payback” pain that doesn’t show up on a private investigator’s camera. We also challenge biased IME reports by pointing out the doctor’s lack of specialized knowledge or their history of working exclusively for insurance carriers.
You shouldn’t have to live in fear of your own shadow just because you’re disabled. We provide the legal shield you need so you can focus on your health, not on the person watching you from the street.
If you suspect you are being surveilled or if you’ve been scheduled for an “Independent” Medical Exam, contact Schnider Law Firm today. We know the games they play, and we know how to win.