Massachusetts Dept. Updates Unum Group Process

The Massachusetts Division of Insurance, one of three lead state regulators in a multi-state examination of the Unum Group's handling of disability claims, announced that the country's leading writer of disability insurance has completed a mandated claims reassessment process and returned more than $13 million to Massachusetts consumers. More than 40% of the reviewed claims were reversed in whole or in part, resulting in a total of $676 million in additional benefits for consumers in every state and the District of Columbia.

In November 2004, as a result of the findings of a multi-state examination, the Unum Group entered into Regulatory Settlement Agreements (RSA) with regulators in Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Tennessee and the United States Department of Labor. The RSA required the company to make significant changes in corporate governance, implement revisions to claim procedures and provide for a full re-examination of both reassessed claims and disability insurance claim decisions after the January 2005 effective date of the RSA.

Massachusetts' recently completed examination found that Unum promptly implemented the changes required by the RSA in both governance and claim administration, and now follows practices that will protect disability insurance claimants. Reassessed claims including interest have been paid to all impacted claimants.