Lawsuit Alleges Conflict of Interest in Unum Insurance Claim Denial

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Unum policyholder Larry Dean Murphy has filed a lawsuit against Unum Insurance Company, alleging that the company denied his disability insurance claim in bad faith.

Murphy alleges in the disability insurance lawsuit that he had an insurance policy through Unum but when he tried to cash in on the policy, Unum denied his disability insurance claim. Murphy claims that Unum’s denial came through a conflict of interest, specifically, that the organization that would be paying out the disability insurance was the same organization that determined Murphy’s status. Unfortunately, the text of Murphy’s lawsuit does not go into the details of his insurance claim denial.

Murphy’s lawsuit is one of many filed against Unum in the last 10 years. These lawsuits have alleged that Unum wrongfully denies disability insurance claims in order to save money on insurance payouts. In the past, Unum has allegedly used a variety of tactics to deny insurance claims, including using in-house physicians to overrule the patients’ doctors, claiming that a person could still perform some types of work, declaring them less that “totally disabled” as defined by the policies.

In addition to legal troubles, Unum has come under increasing legal scrutiny in recent years over the manner in which they deny insurance benefits. In 2002, Unum was the subject of an expose by the television news program “60 Minutes,” which alleged that Unum used a variety of tactics to deny insurance claims in bad faith, and even established “denial quotas” for their agents. Similarly, an investigation by CBS News also reported that Unum was still allegedly using similar cost-cutting tactics against policyholders.

Despite legal challenges and media scrutiny, Unum is the largest provider of disability insurance both within the United States and the world. The company has an income of tens of billions of dollars per year, and controls roughly 40 percent of the country’s long-term disability insurance. It is also the oldest continuously-functioning insurance company in the world, though it has been through several iterations. In fact, the earliest forerunners of Unum led the way in workplace insurance, offering insurance to minors and sawmill workers.

The Unum disability insurance lawsuit is formally titled Larry Dean Murphy v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. 6:13-cv-00937-CEH-KRS, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division.

Free Help for Disability Insurance Claim Denials

If you or someone you care about were denied a legitimate disability insurance claim with Unum, you may be eligible to take legal action against the insurer. Large insurance companies have a way of making their word seem final, but you need to remember that you still have rights, and there are steps that you can take to regain a measure of control over your situation. You can start by visiting the Unum/UnumProvident Disability Insurance Claim Denial Class Action Lawsuit Investigation and obtaining a free legal review of your case. If you qualify, a disability insurance attorney will contact you about the next steps you can take, free of charge.