Unum Life Insurance Company of America is facing another bad faith insurance lawsuit by a woman alleging that the insurance giant wrongfully denied a legitimate disability insurance claim.

Plaintiff Mary Randolph has alleges that Unum denied her legitimate insurance claim. According to her Unum lawsuit, she became disabled on April 1, 2003, and subsequently applied to Unum for disability insurance.

Randolf’s bad faith insurance lawsuit states that Unum initially approved her for short term disability insurance through November 2003, and long-term disability through November 2005.

During this time period, the Social Security Administration also determined that she was disabled.

However, in August 2008, Unum reportedly denied her continuing benefits. Randolph appealed the denial, but Unum maintained that she was not entitled to further benefits. Randolph’s disability insurance lawsuit asserts that Unum “failed to properly consider the medical evidence submitted in support of the plaintiff’s claim.”

Randolph’s Unum lawsuit further alleges that the insurance giant erroneously classified her disorder as a mental illness, which could limit her coverage under the terms of her policy.

Unum is the leading provider of both long-term and short-term disability insurance. This type of insurance is designed to provide policy holders with income should they become so disabled they can no longer work. However, Unum has been accused in the past of failing to live up to their insurance polices.

Other Unum lawsuits — as well as a “60 Minutes” investigation — have alleged that the insurance giant routinely denies legitimate claims in order to protect their profit margins. This practice is called acting “in bad faith.” This legal term means that one party in a contract, in this case the insurance company, is trying to avoid the terms of their contract.

Under federal law, particularly the Employee Income Retirement Act of 1974 (ERISA), policyholders in disability insurance may resort to legal action if they feel they have been denied a legitimate insurance claim in bad faith. One of the provisions of ERISA is that once policyholders have exhausted the internal appeals process provided by the insurer, they may file an insurance claim denial lawsuit.

Randolph’s Unum insurance lawsuit states that she has gone through Unum’s entire appeals process.

The Unum Lawsuit is Mary E. Randolph v. Unum Group Corporation, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-02395, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.