Unum’s Questionable Business Practices Put in Spotlight

Over the past 10 years, Unum has been accused of a litany of bad insurance practices, including the improper denial of disability claims. These fraudulent business practices have led to lawsuit settlements with state officials and policyholders who alleged they were wronged.

According to the State of Maine’s Bureau of Insurance, by 2008 the Unum group had largely cleaned up their act. In 2004, the insurance giant entered into a multi-state agreement regarding their insurance practices. The agreement involved 48 states and the District of Columbia. Per this agreement, Unum largely changed its approach to corporate governance, including changing the way they handled quality control – and claims processing. According the Bureau, Unum has improved radically, though policyholders continue to come forward to say their disability claims are wrongfully denied or their payments were stopped without reason.

Despite the Bureau’s assertion, the interstate scrutiny that led to this agreement was not positive. In 2002, lawyers representing clients with denied insurance claims sought out the media’s help, claiming that Unum actually had “denial quotas” – set amounts of insurance claims that agents had to deny as a job expectation. These allegations led to investigations by various journalists and news programs.

Unum Slammed by “60 Minutes”

Based on these allegations, the television newsmagazine “60 Minutes” launched an investigation into Unum, which controlled about forty percent of the U.S. disability insurance market – 17 million Americans’ disability insurance. The investigation lent credence a number of serious allegations.

According to a segment on “60 Minutes,” Unum engage in unfair business practices. This included wrongly denying valid insurance claims, canceling and modifying policies without policyholders’ knowledge or consent, and – sure enough – denial quotas. It even came to light that Unum had an award for agents who denied the most claims, the “hungry vulture award.” The program also interviewed physicians who worked for Unum. One of the physicians claimed they were fired from Unum when they refused to alter medical records to state a patient’s condition was preexisting when it was not.

State Officials Go After Unum

In response to the outrage the program stirred up, Unum came under greater scrutiny. Then-California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi branded Unum an “outlaw company.” Overseas, a BBC investigation labeled Unum a “rogue firm” over their business practices and their involvement in controversial legislation.

Based on the scrutiny, Unum went into the multi-state agreement. According to the State of Maine’s Bureau of Insurance, Unum has largely turned its business practices around. Unum had agreed to cooperate with various government agencies’ investigations and oversight. However, by this point many Unum policyholders may have already been wrongly denied insurance benefits.

Unum Lawsuits Seek Justice

Lawsuits have been filed by policyholders against Unum. These lawsuits allege that the Unum group wrongfully denied valid insurance claims, using a variety of tactics. Plaintiffs in these Unum lawsuits seek the reinstatement of wrongfully-canceled policies, denied insurance benefits, and back-owed benefits.

If you have been denied a disability insurance claim by the Unum group, you may feel powerless. Unum is a massive company, grossing billions in revenue. But you do have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain control over your situation. You can start by visiting the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. Submit your information for a free legal review by a skilled insurance attorney who will fight to get the benefits you deserve.