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There are numerous lawsuits against the disability and life insurance giant Unum, but one case in particular showed a revealing glimpse of the company’s culture and questionable policies. In Bennett vs. Unum Life Ins. Co. (321 F.Supp. 2d 925, 934-935), Unum admitted to having a self-proclaimed “Hungry Vulture” Award that drove employees to deny as many claims as possible — or if that wasn’t possible, stopping claims that were especially lucrative to the policyholder. The award even came with its own motto: “Patience my foot, I’m gonna kill something.”
The details of Unum’s “Hungry Vulture” award were highlighted in Business Week’s “Dean, Frost, Disability Denied!” article of 2003 and news coverage via the television programs “60 Minutes” and “Dateline.” California’s Commissioner has even gone on record about Unum, saying that it’s “an outlaw company that for years has operated in an illegal fashion.” What’s scariest is that Unum is also the largest insurance underwriter in the U.S.
An Unum CEO Speaks Up
J. Harold Chandler served as CEO of Unum well before the company became known as Unum/Provident Corporation, and he admits that employees were encouraged to deny as many claims as possible. Not only were they encouraged, they were put under immense pressure to succeed. Some employees even had target numbers for how many claims should be denied, which was part of the NBC television revelation in 2002. Unum operated similar to a retailer, except instead of sales goals there were denial goals.
Most people don’t realize Unum’s history when signing up for a policy or going ahead with their company’s pre-selected plans. Unfortunately, people simply don’t put the same amount of research into a disability policy as they do health insurance, car insurance or homeowners insurance because they don’t think they’ll ever need it. Of course, when and if they do need it, suddenly Unum’s policies begin to unravel before their eyes.
Endless Unum Claim Denial Stories
Even after the Hungry Vulture aware was revealed, many Unum victims claim the company hasn’t improved at all. In fact, there are still multiple Unum claim denials and no shortage of Unum horror stories. Sadly, Unum is targeting people who have little traction to fight. When someone becomes disabled, it can be challenging at best to take on a giant committed to denying their claims.
Unum has two tactics: Either deny claims from the start or suddenly stop payments with little or no explanation. Unum has denied claims from people who have paid into the policy for decades and has reportedly “changed” the terms of the policy via phone with no written explanation or communication.
Are You a Unum Victim?
Have you had a bad experience with Unum? Were your claims denied, or did payments stop for no reason? If so, you might be one of the many people with a Unum legal claim.
Discover more about your rights at the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Submit your Unum story at no charge. If you have a case, a disability insurance attorney will contact you for a free Unum claim review.
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