Unum Life Insurance Company has been accused of practicing bad faith insurance — that is, wrongfully denying disability benefits to eligible policyholders — and even seasoned lawyers may have been cheated out of their disability benefits by the company.

Background on Unum

As the largest disability insurance company in the United States, Unum reportedly handles 40 percent of all disability insurance policies in the nation.

Seventeen million consumers in the U.S. are provided disability insurance policies by Unum, and they are counting on these insurance policies should the worst occur.

However, according to numerous Unum lawsuits and Unum class action lawsuits, the insurance company has abused its power and the trust its policy holders have placed in the company by allegedly denying qualifying disability insurance claim.

Unum Bad Faith Insurance Practices

In 2002, the popular TV program “60 Minutes” ran a segment on Unum’s alleged bad faith insurance practices and how the company denies long-term disability benefits in order to reap profits for the company.

A former Unum employee interviewed during the TV segment claims Unum has a set claim denial quota that must be met each month by their employs.

Furthermore, claims adjusters are given incentive awards who meet the goal, meaning that thousands of consumers from various professions, including lawyers, may have unpaid disability benefits that they are legally entitled to.

Furthermore, a former Unum-employed physician was interviewed during the “60 Minutes” program. He claims he was let go from the insurance company because he refused to engage in their bad faith insurance practices. According to the doctor, he would not agree to deny injured policy holders the benefits they rightfully deserve as paying consumers.

Other former Unum employees support this physician’s allegations, stating that the insurance company encouraged its in-house doctors to review medical records and make false statements regarding policy holders’ disability status, which would then allow Unum to deny the disability insurance claim.

Oftentimes, individuals who were truly disabled and could not work or earn a living were wrongfully denied their long-term disability benefits because an Unum physician falsely stated that their medical condition still allowed them to work, allowing the insurance company to keep the consumers’ premiums.

Those affected by Unum’s bad faith insurance policies may include lawyers who became injured on the job or developed a medical condition that barred them from continuing their legal practice, leaving them unable to support themselves or their families without a source of income from a disability insurance policy.

If you are a lawyer who has been wrongfully denied your Unum disability benefits, then you may be eligible to file a Unum claim denial lawsuit or join an existing bad faith insurance lawsuit.