A woman is fighting an Unum disability insurance denial after her employer-based plan canceled her benefits.

Plaintiff Judy S. is a former employee of Regions Financial Corporation, which sponsors a group disability policy administered by Unum Life Insurance Company of America.

Judy says she became disabled in October 2010 and continues to be disabled, making her eligible for disability benefits.

Unum initially granted her claim for disability benefits and paid them until June 15, 2017, according to her disability insurance lawsuit. On that date, Unum canceled Judy’s disability benefits. She appealed the decision in October 2017 and again in December 2017, but Unum denied both appeals.

Judy alleges she provided Unum with sufficient medical records proving she still was eligible for disability benefits.

According to the Unum disability insurance denial lawsuit, Unum’s decision to deny her benefits was “arbitrary” and “irrational” based on the evidence. She claims Unum based its denial on the opinion of a medical professional who simply reviewed Judy’s medical records and refused to have her independently examined or to take her treating doctor’s opinion into account.

She claims Unum’s doctor allegedly “was financially biased” because of his relationship with Unum, and that the doctor “was not qualified to refute the findings” of Judy’s treating physician.

Unum is accused of ignoring medical evidence and taking certain evidence out of context in order to deny Judy’s claim. The Unum disability insurance denial allegedly was wrong under the terms of the plan.

Unum’s financial interest is best served by protecting its own assets. Because Unum both funds the disability plan and decides whether participants will receive benefits, Unum allegedly has a conflict of interest when the company determines whether or not a participant qualifies to receive benefits. Unum can appear more profitable to its shareholders by denying claims.

Unum’s disability insurance is an ERISA welfare benefit plan, which means it is governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

Unum Disability Insurance Denials Have History

Unum has been accused of denying valid disability claims in the past. As one of the largest providers of short term and long term disability coverage, Unum receives millions of dollars in insurance premiums from consumers who hope they never need to use the coverage, but feel better knowing it is there. Unum currently insures upwards of 17 million Americans.

The Department of Labor ordered Unum in 2005 to resolve its alleged bad faith practices. The company was accused of misreading medical records and blatantly refusing to recognize a valid disability.

That order came after the television program 60 Minutes broadcast the results of its investigation into Unum denied claims. Unum employees went on the record saying they were financially rewarded for obtaining a monthly quota of denied claims.

One doctor said he was fired when he refused to deny benefits to seriously disabled beneficiaries. After the program aired, other doctors employed by Unum came forward, saying they were advised to falsify medical records of disabled claimants to conjure a healthy image on paper.

Judy’s Unum disability insurance denial lawsuit is among more than 3,000 that have been filed against Unum, which has settled for up to millions of dollars in compensation for wrongfully denied claims.

The Unum Disability Insurance Denial Lawsuit is Case No. 0:18-cv-233 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

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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