Unum Lawsuits Detail Deceitful Tactics Designed to Aid Claim Denials

Tuesday, 14 August 2012 11:46

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Unum Lawsuits Detail Deceitful Tactics Designed to Aid Claim Denials

By Kimberly Mirando

 

Numerous Unum lawsuits have been filed over the insurance provider's underhanded practices, which are designed to help the company deny legitimate claims for disability insurance. One of these tactics is giving claimants the option to gather additional information or to file an extension, which is designed to eat away the claimants' time to appeal a claim denial.

 

Several Unum lawsuits have detailed this tactic, including an Unum claim denial lawsuit filed by an Arizona woman who submitted the necessary paperwork proving she had a disability within the allotted time frame, but still had her long-term disability benefits terminated. Her lawsuit alleged Unum never acknowledged they received her paperwork and did not reply to her reconsideration request, allowing them to follow through with the termination on the grounds that she did not meet the administrative requirements within the allotted time period. Luckily, an appeals court sided with her, ruling that Unum pushed her past the deadline with "ambiguous communications" and by failing to "engage in a meaningful dialogue."

 

Stories like these are all too common, forcing many Unum policyholder to sue the company for improperly denying their claims for long-term disability benefits. These lawsuits list numerous deceitful tactics Unum allegedly does to force a claim denial, including trying to force claimants to exceed their time to appeal a claim denial.

 

One of the ways Unum allegedly does this is by offering claimants an Option of Reconsideration to give them an opportunity to provide additional documentation to reverse a denied claim. Unum provides claimants 180 days to appeal a denial, but many claimants do not realize they only have 45 days under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). If claimants submit paperwork after the 45-day period, Unum will deny the claim based on ERISA violations.

 

Another alleged way Unum improperly denies claims is by asking claimants for their permission to extend the time for Unum to review files on an appeal. Since these files are subject to ERISA's 45-day time limit, such extensions can put claimants at risk for violating ERISA. Once this time limit has expired, claimants no longer have the right to appeal an Unum claim denial. To add insult to injury, Unum asks claimants to sign the Permission to Extend, which essentially relinquishes their right to a fair and timely appeal decision.

 

If you fell victim to one of these deceitful Unum claim denial tactics, or had your disability insurance claim denied for any reason, contact an Unum claim denial attorney right away. An experienced attorney can determine your legal options and help you recover the benefits you deserve.

 

Visit the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation to submit your information for a free, no-obligation consultation about whether you have a case. There is no charge for this initial consultation -- the Unum claim denial lawyers working this investigation don't get paid unless you do.

Updated August 14th, 2012

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Last Updated on Thursday, 27 December 2012 11:09