An Indiana woman has filed a disability insurance claim denial lawsuit against the national life insurance company Unum, alleging that the company wrongfully denied her disability claim and refused to pay the benefits due to her based on her Unum life insurance policy agreement.

Donna Apparius was employed at Community Heart and Vascular, located in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 2010 until April 2011 as a Licensed Practical Nurse. As of April 2011, Apparius allegedly could no longer continue her work as a nurse because of a disability.

According to the insurance claim deniallawsuit, “Ms. Apparius was forced to stop working as a result of the debilitating effects of coronary artery disease, lumbar degenerative disc disease, cervical spine disease, bulging discs, cerebrovascular accident with residual left leg weakness and balance disorder, obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, diabetes, depression and anxiety.”

Soon after her last work day in April, Apparius filed for long term disability benefits to last a 24-month period through Unum, her disability insurance provider.

The Indiana woman received disability benefits until Unum allegedly terminated them. Despite Ms. Apparius providing significant medical proof of her disabilities, including testaments from her primary care physician and the Social Security Administration, Unum has allegedly refused to reinstate the plaintiff’s disability life insurance policy.

As a result of Unum’s alleged wrongful denial of Apparius’s policy, she has reportedly experienced financial and emotional distress. Apparius and her legal counsel allege that Unum wrongfully denied her of disability benefits despite Apparius providing Unum with all the paperwork and proof necessary to receive her payments.

The plaintiff and her legal counsel are seeking relief in the form of reinstatement of Aparrius’s long-term disability benefits, back pay for the benefits denied to her during the course of the litigation, payment of attorney’s fees, and any other monetary damages deemed just and appropriate by the court.

The Unum Life Insurance Claim Denial Lawsuit is Donna Apparius v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America, Case No. 1:14-cv-1100 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Background on Unum Life Insurance Company of America

Unum Life Insurance Company of America, also formerly known as Union Mutual Life, is a life insurance provider that was orginially established in 1848 and provides various types of insurance plans to policy holders.

However, since around 1980, there have been reports of Unum allegedly engaging in cash flow underwriting, the practice of selling large numbers of insurance policies without assessing the possible risks for each individual policy holder. Unum would then allegedly be able to profit from the initial paid customer premiums by investing the premiums into the marketplace.

As a result of the alleged cashflow underwriting, Unum gained control over a large portion of the long-term disability insurance market.

In 1993, however, the interest rates for all type of life insurance plans decreased significantly, and Unum began to lose profits, most noticeably in long-term disability contracts. As a way to retain what profits they had left, Unum allegedly made a habit of intentionally denying qualifying policy holders their long term disability benefits.