3 October 2005

California insurance regulators fine Unum $8 million, including for using wrong legal definition of disability to deny claims, requiring the company to reopen as many as 26,000 California cases.

What: California regulators charged UnumProvident with more than 25 violations of state law, allegations that the company avoided responding to by settling the case. Among the charges: that the company knowingly applied the wrong legal definition of disability in denying claims or ruling claimants were able to go back to work. California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said: “UnumProvident is an outlaw company. It is a company that for years has operated in an illegal fashion.”

Why significant: Further evidence of UnumProvident’s unlawful practices in the US while it was advising the UK government.