Claiming Unum Life Insurance Company wrongfully denied her long term disability benefits, a Louisiana woman filed a civil action complaint on July 1, 2015, in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Plaintiff Shelley P. filed the Unum lawsuit claiming the insurance company failed to pay her the full amount of benefits under her long-term disability plan. Shelley alleges she filed a claim for disability benefits because her medical conditions precluded her from continuing to perform her job duties on a full time basis since October 2011.

According to the Unum lawsuit, Unum determined that Shelley was totally disabled, but the compnay only paid a benefit of $300 per month. Unum asserts that in order to receive the addition $3,807 per month as indicated in her disability benefits plan, Shelley would have to be “catastrophically” disabled.

Shelley is suing Unum Insurance over these unpaid disability benefits, because even though Unum determined she was unable to work due to her medical condition, they denied that she was “catastrophically” disabled.

Furthermore, Unum allegedly had their own reviewing physician determine that Shelley’s need for long-term disability benefits did not trigger coverage under Unum’s disability insurance policy terms.

Common Unum Insurance Claim Denial Practices

It is often discussed that Unum is in the practice of wrongfully denying disability benefits claims for people who need it most. Unum (formerly known as Unum Provident and First Unum) has written disability insurance policies for approximately 17 million Americans, making it the largest disability insurance policy provider in the United States; it has also been accused of countless insurance claim denials of their policyholders over the past two decades.

Unum insurance policyholders have reported that Unum Insurance has illegally denied disability claims by:

• Changing policies once claims are filed (and without the authorization or knowledge of policy holders)
• Improperly investigating the claim
• Misreading medical records
• Refusing to acknowledge their disability
• Partially paying a claim for total disability and then denying the same claim at a subsequent date

Although the Department of Labor in 2005 mandated that Unum resolve its bad faith insurance practices, many insured policyholders have since experienced significant economic losses as a result of Unum’s illegal insurance claim denial tactics.

Unum Lawsuits

Unum and its subsidiaries, including Provident Life, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company, and Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, have been subject to numerous bad faith insurance lawsuits for illegally refusing to pay valid disability insurance claims.

Unum policyholders have filed disability benefits lawsuits against the insurance company for practicing bad faith insurance and denying their Unum long-term disability insurance.

The Unum Disability Benefits Lawsuit is Case No. 2:15-cv-02435-HGB-DEK, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.