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You’ve submitted a long term disability claim to UNUM and just received notice your request for benefits was approved – congratulations! But if, like many claimants, you assume this approval letter is the end of the story when it comes to your receipt of disability benefits, you may be mistaken. Below, the attorneys at Dell & Schaefer will explain more about UNUM’s claim re-evaluation process, lifetime disability clauses, and what claimants should do to preserve their right to receive long term disability benefits from UNUM.

GREG DELL: Hi. I’m Greg Dell with attorneys Dell & Schaefer. And today’s disability question is, how long does Unum long-term disability last? And Stephen, I think this is an excellent question because every policy is written differently, which you’re going to talk about in a minute. But also it really doesn’t matter in a sense how long the policy is because just because you get approved doesn’t mean you’re staying on it–

STEPHEN JESSUP: –that long.

GREG DELL: And talk about first why just getting approved doesn’t mean you’re going to get the maximum duration under the policy.…
Continue Reading How Long Does UNUM Long Term Disability Benefits Last?


Disability Insurance Attorneys Dell & Schaefer has represented policy holders when the disability insurance company denies a claimant benefits who has been on claim for many years. Insurance companies often deny claims even when the policy holders claim file is absent any evidence that there’s been any improvement in their condition.

GREG DELL: Hi, I’m Greg Dell, here with attorney Victor Peña. And, Victor, you brought a case to my attention that just came out recently out of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit, which covers cases out of Massachusetts. I’m always intrigued by the cases where the disability insurance company denies a claimant that had previously been on claim for nine years and the thought process to say, outside of some video or some doctor saying the claimant’s better, did they find the cure to this person’s disease or did they just get that much better after nine years at their back?

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Continue Reading After 9 Years, UNUM Denies a Policy Holder Benefits Despite No Evidence of Improvement

UNUM is a large insurance company that provides insurance for workers through their employers. However, when it comes to paying disability claims for long-term diseases such as fibromyalgia, the insurance giant consistently denies claims, especially for those who go on short-term disability and start working again. Two issues lead to disability insurance claim denial. If UNUM denied a claim you filed for long-term disability, contact a disability insurance attorney as soon as possible.

Denied Disability Claim

In the present case, a 59-year-old woman worked at an Air Force base for 33 years. Her job required her to lift, climb and carry. During the last 15-plus years of her tenure, she suffered from fibromyalgia. The woman went on short-term disability for fibromyalgia several years ago. Her doctors recommended that she go on long-term disability, but instead, she went back to work and worked through the pain of the disease because she loved her job. The woman had to force herself to get up every day to do a job she loved. She wasn’t ready to give up a job that she enjoyed.

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Continue Reading Why Does UNUM Deny Disability Claims for Long-Term Diseases?

When receiving a Unum disability claim denial on a policy you’ve potentially paid into for years, it can be disheartening, to say the least. It can also cause devastation to lose your source of income and live with a long-term disability (LTD), making the Unum denied disability even more significant to your ongoing quality of life. But the situation is not entirely without hope, as you have the legal right to file an appeal of the Unum denied claim.

Disability insurance attorneys Greg Dell and Stephen Jessup discuss Unum disability appeal strategies to help those with LTDs know what to expect and how to proceed. Unum is the world’s largest disability insurer for long-term disabilities, and the attorneys at Dell & Schaefer have collectively handled thousands of appeals against Unum of behalf of their clients.
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Continue Reading How Can I Appeal After Receiving a UNUM Disability Benefits Denial?

In Pamela Fleming v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum), Plaintiff, a litigation attorney, was in a car accident in 1994 and suffered serious injuries to her spine. She never fully recovered and by July 2005, she was only able to work four hours a day and eventually had to completely stop working.

In December 2005, Unum approved Plaintiff’s claim for LTD benefits. Through the years, she periodically submitted updated medical records and continued to receive benefits until September 26, 2016, when Unum informed her by letter that her benefits were terminated. Unum stated that it believed she was no longer disabled and could return to work. After exhausting her administrative remedies, Plaintiff filed this ERISA lawsuit.
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Continue Reading Court Rules Unum Life Insurance Company Wrongfully Terminated LTD Benefits

In Kevin C. McCusker v. Unum Life Insurance Co. of America, Et al., Plaintiff found his wife dead in their house on February 10, 2016. The wife had been employed by Fidelity Bank where she was a participant in a group life and accidental death plan through Fidelity’s employee welfare benefit plan. Plaintiff was named as the beneficiary. Under the plan, “Unum is vested with discretionary authority to make benefit determinations…”
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Continue Reading Court Remands to Unum for Review of Plaintiff’s Claim for Death Benefits

In David L. Rothman v. Unum Group, Unum Life Insurance Company of America (Unum), Plaintiff was a Certified Financial Planner who had worked for almost 30 years in a business owned by his father, Rothman Securities, when he developed a drug addiction. He was unable to perform the duties of his regular occupation and received disability benefits from October 12, 2012, until October 2015. On October 1, 2015, Unum terminated Plaintiff’s benefits. Plaintiff’s appeals were denied and he then filed this lawsuit against Unum for breach of contract and bad faith.

Background

In addition to his drug abuse problems, in March 2013, Plaintiff pled guilty to wire fraud and money laundering and was fired by Rothman Securities. In January 2014, he was sentenced to a 4-year prison sentence and in February that same year, his professional license was revoked due to his criminal conviction.
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Continue Reading Court Rules in Favor of Unum and Finds Plaintiff Not Factually Disabled

Insurance companies are known for having delays. In this video Attorney Gregory Dell & Stephen Jessup discuss very specific facts surrounding the timeframe for which UNUMS’s extension was to begin and could be tolled in McFarland vs. First UNUM. Learn about the importance of providing all pertinent information during the ERISA administrative appeal process.

Collins v. Unum Life Insurance Company of America is a case with an unfortunate result for plaintiff Daniel Collins who fractured his ankle when he fell in the employee parking lot. Initially surgery was performed and various screws put in place to hold the tibia and fibula together and securing the medial malleolus. For about three months, he had no complaints and the fracture appeared to be healing appropriately.…
Continue Reading Ohio Court Upholds Unum’s Denial of Accidental Dismemberment Benefits