Stories of UnumProvident disability insurance claims denials may put many people off the entire idea of the coverage. Others may find it too expensive, compared to life insurance and even just building up one's own emergency fund. However, for some people it makes very good sense to buy disability insurance. Here are a few steps to buying the right disability insurance plan:

Reverend Bob Hutchinson thought he was one of the lucky ones when it came to Unum and their history of denying legitimate benefit claims. When he fractured his spinal column and was completely disabled as a result of it, Unum approved his long-term disability claim. However, just nine months later, Mr. Hutchinson received a call from his Unum representative, which asserted that Mr. Hutchinson needed to apply for Social Security disability right away.

According to a recent statement by a long-term disability lawyer, Unum, as well as other long-term insurance providers, consider it common practice to have their policyholders apply for Social Security disability benefits to offset and then reduce the amount of Unum benefits they pay their disability benefits policyholder. Although many Unum policyholders have expressed a great deal of concern about this common Unum practice, the long-term disability lawyer says  it is legal for Unum to require this of their policyholder but adds more flame to the fire when it comes to Unum’s history of shady practices.