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Unum Denied Disability Benefits
Unum has written disability insurance policies for approximately 17 million Americans, making it the largest disability insurance provider in the US. And it has denied countless insurance claims. Unum policyholders have filed disability lawsuits—personal injury cases—against the insurance company for practicing bad faith insurance and denying their Unum long term disability insurance.
Unum Denial—Am I Eligible for Benefits?
If you have had your claim denied, or if your claim was granted and then later terminated, you may be eligible for substantial additional benefits.
Under investigation and pressure from the Department of Labor (DOL), Unum Provident’s family of companies offered to reassess approximately 200,000 claims denied or closed since January 1, 2000 for reasons other than settlement, death, or reaching benefit maximums. They were ordered to allow for reassessment, upon request, of claims similarly denied or closed between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 1999. According to the settlement, Unum accepted and reevaluated claims, whether or not the claimant was still disabled, until December 31, 2006. Nonetheless, the claims of unjust and unlawful denial of benefits continue.
If you have made a claim under a long-term disability policy provided by or administered by the following companies and have had your claim denied, or if your claim was granted and then later terminated, you still may be eligible for substantial additional benefits:
- First Unum Provident Corp;
- Unum Life Insurance Company of America;
- Paul Revere Life Insurance Company;
- Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company; or
- Provident Life & Accident Insurance Company.
Unum Denial Tactics
Some examples of Unum’s Denial Tactics include:
- Changing policies after claims are filed (and without the authorization or knowledge of policy holders);
- Improperly investigating the claim and obtaining opinions from unqualified people/supposed experts;
- Misreading medical records, often by their independent medical examiners;
- Repeatedly demanding additional independent medical examinations or denying a claim without any medical examination;
- Refusing to acknowledge disabilities, especially for mental disorders, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome, where symptoms are necessarily self-reported;
- Arguing that the claim is a pre-existing condition;
- Denying a claim with the intent to wear the claimant down to a lower settlement;
- Partially paying a claim for total disability;
- Relying on dubious information provided by private investigators, friends, co-workers or neighbors in an attempt to disprove a disability.
Unum Insurance
UnumProvident (formerly “the Unum Group,” a large Fortune 500 insurance company based in Chattanooga, TN) and its subsidiaries offer individual and group insurance programs such as long-term disability income protection, short-term disability income protection, life insurance, long term care insurance (LTCI), and voluntary critical illness insurance. Unum Provident insures more than 25 million people worldwide.
Disability income protection insurance provides financial benefits to employees when they are unable to work due to a disability caused by a covered illness or injury, regardless of whether or not that illness or injury is work-related.
Unum Lawsuits
Lawsuits filed against Unum or Unum Provident allege the company committed fraud and breach of contract. Many lawsuits stem from denial of legitimate Unum long term disability insurance claims—where the insurance company unfairly and improperly fails to compensate the insured for a loss covered by their policy, or unreasonably delays making payments due under the policy.
2017
- In Wakil v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America et al, Case No. 3:2017-cv-02564 in the US District Court, Southern District of California, a Board certified psychiatrist’s Lyme disease claim denied. The doctor continues to suffer from pain and other symptoms associated with the disease, and struggles because she cannot earn a a living from her profession;
- Unum runs out the statute of limitations for lawyer with neurological conditions after nearly 20 years of litigation; Arkun v. Unum Group, US District Court , Southern District of New York, 15 Civ. 8425 (PAE);
- Pennsylvania nurse claims that her benefits were not only denied, but that the Unum failed to consider the evidence that supported her claim. Jennifer Secrist v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, Case No. 2:17-cv-04651-RBS, US District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
2016
- A lawsuit filed against Unum resulted in a summary judgment victory for the defendant. The lawsuit involved a former Navy SEAL who committed suicide. His wife, Jennifer Collins, filed a lawsuit against Unum after the insurance company denied her claim. Collins v. Unum Life Insurance, Case 2:15-cv-00188-RGD-RJK, US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia;
- Unum Life Insurance settled a lawsuit for $46 million in Don et al v. Unum Group et al, Case No. CV 13-4502-DSF, US District Court, Central District of California. The class action alleged that the insurance giant systematically miscalculated long-term care benefits owed to policy holders;
2015
- Unum stiffs even its own employee! “Unum didn’t believe that I was disabled, even with my doctor’s letters,” she said. “They never sent me to their own Independent Medical Examiner. They denied workers comp, even though I was working when I hurt my back; they denied everything.”
2014
- A policyholder sued in New York, claiming that Unum wrongfully terminated his short-term disability benefits and denied his claim for LTD. Steven Krol made a disability claim on his Unum policy when he was diagnosed with vascular dementia – a condition similar to Alzheimer’s disease. The disease is incurable and often leads to early death.
2013
- Tanya Mondolo, who suffers from fibromyalgia, filed a Unum lawsuit with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California after the company denied her benefits. The federal court took into account Unum’s history of unfairly denying claims and Ms. Mondolo won her case against Unum. Internal documents suggest that Unum has routinely regarded fibromyalgia as an imaginary disease. The case is Mondolo v. Unum Life Ins. Co. of Amer., CV-11-07435 CAS (MRWx) (C.D. Cal. 2013)
Statistics show that plaintiffs generally win higher settlement awards if they work with an expert insurance attorney. To find out whether or not you have a legitimate claim against Unum, you should speak to a Unum lawyer who specializes in disability denials.
UnumProvident Disability Legal Help
If you have had a disability claim denied, or if your claim was granted and then later terminated, from one of the companies listed above, you may qualify for compensation, even if the statute of limitations has expired. Complete the form below for a free case evaluation.
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