Suit: Unum Wrongly Denies Disability Claims

Nov. 13, 2002
A class-action lawsuit charges that UnumProvident operates "disability denial factories," wrongly denying disability claims by its policyholders.

The suit, filed in New York by four policyholders, charges that the company has denied thousands of disability claims. A similar charge has been leveled by a doctor who formerly worked for the company and by numerous policyholders in individual lawsuits.

The class action alleges that UnumProvident "has illegally victimized, and continues to victimize, many thousands of disabled Americans." It seeks unspecified damages and asks the courts to order the company to re-evaluate all of the claims it has denied in recent years.

UnumProvident is the nation's largest disability carrier. It handles about 30 percent of the U.S. disability policies. A company spokesman said the firm rejected about two percent of disability claims in 2001.

The lawsuit claims the company uses non-medical personnel to decide which claims to deny and then uses its staff of 100 doctors to create a "paper trail" justifying the decision.