By Llewellyn Pimentel

Published October 2000

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I am an insurance agent and can understand your frustration at dealing with UnumProvident. It is not a secret that this company is in the disability market with the idea of not paying the legitimate claims of their insureds. Unfortunately, because of the way the insurance business is regulated, this company gets away with this illegal practice. I am actually helping a person who is going "through hell" trying to get a claim paid by this company. An agent with 15 years of experience told me, and I quote him: "I'd never insure one of my clients with UnumProvident. If my clients do not want to pay the additional premium to get a policy through an honest company, I just don't sell it. I advise my clients that should they become disabled, they'd be better off by the amount of the premiums".

I have plans to start a national campaign to call the attention of the departments of insurance, agents, and financial planners on how UnumProvident is abusing its policy holders. My goal is to force UnumProvident to disclose the dollar amount of the average claims being paid in comparison to those denied, as well as to make public the number of cases that have been settled out of court and how many are actually being fought in court by its army of attorneys.