A man has filed an Unum lawsuit after his stroke disability insurance claim was denied.

Plaintiff Gilbert M. said he bought a long term disability plan through Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company and Unum Group Corporation while Gilbert was working as a doctor. According to the complaint, he suffered a stroke while the policy was in force. At that time, he alleges he was entitled to the benefits of his long term disability policy.

The stroke disability insurance claim allegedly has not been fully paid to Gilbert by Provident and Unum, who he claims “misrepresented and concealed the true benefits due under the policy.”

He further alleges he was given the incorrect policy form during the claims process and that Provident and Unum misrepresented the benefits due, the policy requirements, and that all applicable policy benefits would be paid.

His stroke disability insurance claim allegedly was denied because the insurance companies purportedly suppressed the “correct policy form, the correct benefits due under the policy, [and] the correct policy requirements” and were “actively scheming to deny” Gilbert of applicable benefits.

Stroke Disability Insurance Claim Denial Not the First

Provident and Unum life insurance companies merged in 1999. By 2002, policyholders began alleging that Unum Provident was denying claims without reason and that other policyholders were seeing early termination of benefits.

Former employees of Unum Provident alleged on the television program 60 Minutes that employees were rewarded if they reached a claim-denial monthly quota. One doctor said he was fired for refusing to deny benefits to truly injured policyholders who had submitted claims.

Since then, other physicians also have alleged Unum Provident encouraged them to make legitimately disabled people appear non-disabled on paper in order to deny claims.

Unum, Provident, Colonial Life and other life insurance companies that fall under the Unum umbrella have faced more than 3,000 lawsuits regarding allegations of denied claims. Many plaintiffs have received settlements for hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars after their valid disability claims were denied.

In some cases, such as with Gilbert’s stroke disability insurance claim, the policyholders allegedly were given improper paperwork in an attempt to invalidate the claim.

In other instances, the insurance company has presented its own medical expert to overrule the opinion of the claimant’s treating physician. In these cases, the medical expert often has little or no contact with the claimant, but relies on medical reports and test results. The medical determination by the insurance company’s expert overrules the medical opinion of the physicians who often have treated the claimant for years.

If you have suffered an injury or medical issue that has kept you from performing the duties and tasks of your profession and you were denied a disability claim, you could be eligible for compensation through legal representation.

The Stroke Disability Insurance Claim Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-01322-UJH-LSC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation. The bad faith insurance attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual lawsuit or Unum class action lawsuit is best for you. [In general, Unum bad faith lawsuits are filed individually by each plaintiff and are not class actions.] Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

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