UnumProvident Claim Denials Put in Media Spotlight

By Courtney Coren

Unum is an insurance company that provides employee benefits to 17 million Americans -- including disability, life, accident and critical illness insurance -- as coverage during times of unexpected illness or injury that may require a prolonged absence from work. It’s the type of insurance that is there to provide peace of mind when the unexpected happens.

In 1999, Unum merged with Provident insurance company, and almost immediately, several lawsuits began to come out against the large insurance company. UnumProvident was then sued by several customers claiming they were unjustly denied disability payments that they should have received in 2002.

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Unum Plaintiff Awarded Attorneys' Fees in Wrongful Claim Denial Lawsuit

By Anne Bucher

Tanya Mondolo had been diagnosed with leukemia and received chemotherapy to treat the disease. She developed avascular necrosis, a type of bone death, from the chemotherapy treatments. She also suffers from fibromyalgia. Due to these conditions, she cannot sit for long periods of time and she has trouble walking. Despite her serious health problems, Unum denied her disability payments.

In 2011, Tanya Mondolo filed a lawsuit against Unum under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In January 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in her favor, finding that Unum had improperly denied her insurance benefits. The court found that the insurance company did not adequately investigate her insurance claim. The judge ordered Unum to reinstate her benefits with interest. At that time, the judge found that Mondolo’s Unum lawyers could file a motion to recover attorneys’ fees.

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Unum Lawsuit Ruled in Favor of Plaintiff, Twice

By Christina Drury

Unum offers disability benefits to those who need them, typically backing employer’s disability plans. The concept of the plan is good; however, many people have experienced difficulties getting their Unum disability insurance claims approved after becoming injured.

Employer Healthcare Deficits Lead to Disability Insurance Problems

By John Curran

In spite of the fact that the majority of employers will face penalties in 2014 for not providing health insurance options for their workers, many are still leaving little in the way of benefits today. As efforts in Kansas indicate, this is causing problems for those who also provide UnumProvident disability insurance benefits.

For many workers, trying to stay on the job through illness or injury is preferable to trying to get medical help because they may have to pay large sums out of their own pockets. Continuing to work when one is at a diminished capacity can lead workers to become unable to stay in the workforce. That increases the work for disability insurance claim denial specialists, but also leads to problems for these employers.

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Fraud Leads to More Disability Insurance Claim Denials

By John Curran

A recent NPR report indicates that the growth of Social Security Disability Insurance claims continues to mount, and in one case may be linked to fraud. There are some mitigating factors, but people who have dealt with claim denial specialists from private insurers should note that there are also differences between the two types of insurance.

They do share at least one similarity, however. Harold Pollack of the University of Chicago told the Washington Post that more often than not, employees at the Social Security Administration work to prevent disability claim fraud. He does not mention it, but even in the case of those who have claims with merit, it means that they have to go through the lengthy appeals process. That is also the case for people who have policies from providers like Unum disability insurance.

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Unum Liable for Denying Legitimate Disability Claims

By Anne Bucher

Disability policies help to minimize the financial impact a person suffers when they are no longer physically able to perform work. More than 50 million Americans rely on disability insurance to help them in case they become injured or too sick to work. Nearly 40 percent of these disability insurance policies are handled by Unum, formerly known as UnumProvident.

Unum Accused of Denying Legitimate Disability Claims

Unum is the largest disability insurance company in the United States and provides disability insurance to nearly 17 million Americans. Several Unum employees have come forward over the last decade to report dishonest business practices. Many employees allege that the management rewarded employees who denied significant claims, even if the claims were legitimate. This practice was initially uncovered in a 2002 segment of 60 Minutes, a television program on the CBS television network.

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