A Tennessee urologist is pursuing a Unum class action lawsuit after the UNUM Provident Corporation (Unum Group) denied his disability insurance claims after 24 years of faithful payment of premiums.

On Jan. 25, 1990, plaintiff Dr. Lawrence Rosen purchased a disability insurance policy from Provident Companies Inc. (now Unum Group) when promised by the company’s salesman that “Provident would pay the policyholder disability benefits when the policyholder could not perform specific duties necessary for his specialty.” When Unum Group bought out Provident, it was understood that Unum was obligated to pay Rosen monthly benefits for total disability ($19,300 a month) when Rosen became unable to perform his duties as a urologist.

According to the Unum lawsuit, Rosen was seen by his primary care physician for leg weakness and extreme pain on June 6, 2006. He reportedly began treatment for his ailments seven months later. By June 2008, Dr. Rosen was diagnosed with piriformis syndrome, the cause of his leg weakness and severe, unrelenting pain. A year later, Rosen could no longer work full time due to extreme pain and inability to stand for long periods of time.

Rosen filed a disability claim with Unum in June 2011. He and his physician completed all necessary paperwork and documentation of his condition, but on Oct. 13, 2011, Unum denied Rosen’s disability claim because he had not experienced a full 30 days of disability. Rosen responded that he had experienced 30 days of full disability from Aug. 20 through Sept. 24, 2009, but delayed in informing Unum because he hoped he would recover. Despite this information, Rosen’s faithful payment of premiums, his 25 years as a urologist, and fulfillment of all requirements of an insurance policy holder, Unum has reportedly denied Rosen full disability and refuses to pay the previously agreed upon $19,300 a month.

Rosen filed a Unum wrongful claim denial lawsuit alleging bad faith, breach of contract, and fraud. The Unum lawsuit demands that Unum pay past benefits plus interest compounded monthly for the months of disability denied to Rosen since 2011.

Background on Unum Group

Since the 1980s, Unum engaged in a practice known as cash flow underwriting, in which the group sold as many insurance policies as possible and made massive profits on the customers’ paid premiums. These insurance policies were not assessed for risks and the premiums were immediately invested in the marketplace.

According to court records, “by the early 1990s and due to Unum’s liberal underwriting and marketing, Unum controlled a larger percentage of the long-term disability insurance market than any other.” But in 1993, interest rates declined and Unum began to lose profits on its policies, especially long-term individual policies such as the one purchased by Rosen. Unum then allegedly adopted a practice of intentionally and wrongfully denying disability claims for long-term policy holders.

Unum’s business practices have not gone unnoticed. The federal government and several states have investigated the company’s claims handling. There are thousands of Unum wrongful claims denial class action lawsuits throughout the country. However, Unum Group has gone to great lengths to hide the prevalence of these court cases from the public. In many cases, Unum has used aggressive means to secure confidential agreements from denied policy holders.

The Unum disability insurance lawsuit is Lawrence Rosen M.D. v. Unum Provident Corporation a/k/a the Unum Group, Case No. 2:14-cv-00922-WMA, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division.