"I hope that I can maybe help someone else down the road by warning them about this company. I made a mistake and didn't call an attorney until it was too late—now I have to pay back three years of long-term disability benefits to Unum because I got social security benefits."Can Unum legally require that Roger pay back $30,000? Roger says that the giant health provider is supposed to be paying him $238 per month; instead they cut him off once his social security benefits kicked in.
"Every policy holder has due process based on their documents and you have to be very careful with the appeals process in your policy," says attorney Greg Jones. "Any time limits are binding on the individual—it could be as early as 30 days, or even 120 days, depending upon Unum's contract." Jones adds that Unum often advises or asks the policy holder to file for social security benefits!
"Again, depending upon your payout and dates of disability, you may be entitled to so many years of Unum's benefits and maybe only one year of social security," says Jones, "but Unum and social security don't always equal out dollar to dollar or date to date."
Obviously it's complicated. "It says nothing in my Unum policy book that I have to pay back my benefits if I collect social security," says Roger. "I read over it with a fine tooth comb." Roger is right—ask an attorney to go over your policy, before you need to collect short-term and/or long-term benefits. Roger is struggling financially and believes he won't get "one red cent out of Unum."
"In my opinion Unum hoodwinked me because they are supposed to pay long-term benefits until I am 65 years old, regardless whether I am getting social security benefits," says Roger, who is now 58 and living in a double-lot trailer. He is also living with multiple sclerosis and brain tumors. "Fortunately I had everything paid for when I became disabled but it's really hard to live on social security alone. I worked for Dunlop for 28 years. When I got sick they were in the process of shutting down and moving to Malaysia so I lost my pension plan when they pulled out of the US, and as you can imagine, I'm not the only one. So I was really counting on Unum…
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"The Unum claims person asked me if I got my social security payment and she asked how much I got. I got a lump sum of $28,000 but I had to pay my lawyer and child support so I had about $12,000 left over. 'Well we are going to stop your payments until you pay us $30,000 that you owe us, so we will deduct $238 per month,' she said. I have no idea how they arrived at this amount but I will have them paid back by May 2012.
"I hate to see someone else fall into this trap. Since this happened to me I have seen quite a few lawsuits against Unum—they will hoodoo you if they can."
READER COMMENTS
Byron Clemens
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Tanya johnson
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Johnny
on
I just applied UNUM and after reading all the negative comments about them I am wondering if I did the right thing.
I selected the Whole Life insurance at $20 a week for Benefit Amount: $74,874.00.
Can anyone give some information on how this whole thing works.
For example: Can I collect my money after, let say 5 years and cancel it? Such as the interest it gained.
Thank you
SueAnn Sweatman
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Well, after struggling with all my illnesses, (I have had 2 holes repaired in my heart, MVP and heart murmur, I have had 2 back surgeries, I have had 2 leg ablations, I have High narcolepsy, I was diagnosed by the MAYO Clinic with degenerative disc and joint disease, 5 bulging disc lower back, several cyst near my upper spine (which I receive injections for), I have had an esophagus and Hiatal hernia repair, I was diagnosed with Pancreatic Insufficiency Enzymes disease, Chronic IBS with Chronic Diarrhea, I have a brain aneurysm, a spleenic artery aneurysm, Pelvic Dysfunctia, extreme leg and back pain, severe stomach problems, and now just found out I have early stages of Glaucoma in both eyes and Optic Nerve Disc in my left eye. I finally was awarded Full Disability and Medicare. I called the Advocator group told them, called UNUM and told them and they said just wait and UNUM will be in touch. Well, a man calls from UNUM, starts telling me that I owe UNUM $31,482.00, and said that UNUM overpaid me and that is why it is so much. I was flabbergasted. He was also rude about it, and I started crying because they wanted all $31,430.00 back pay that I was awarded and then some. The judge awarded this to me, he retro-ed it back all the way to July 25th 2012. I hung up on him, one because he was very rude and two because I was about to have a panic attack.
I do not understand how they can do that. I am paying 20 hospital bills at $20.00 a piece, I am paying for health insurance , which will stop, but will have to pay for vision and dental still. I have a house, a car, a child that is special needs, and it is just so unfair. If anyone can tell me that they are not correct in doing this, I sure would like to know before I give them this money. Thank you for reading. GOD Bless
Donna
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After being approved for SSDI I had to pay back $13000 to UNUM.
There is no communication from anyone I feel like I have been forgotten.
They actually sent an investigator to my home to make sure I was not filing a false claim.
Chuck
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The only thing that I am not clear on, is if I have to apply for SSDI payments later in the future, after 12 months of receiving Unum benefits or if unum will continue paying me till I am 65 years of age?
I have been told that Unum will incourage you to apply for disability with SSA and will pay any difference in the amount that may not be the total they are paying out.
I guess I will find out later on and report back if they pull something funny over me. For now, I was glad that I had paid for the disability plan with Unum, as it is paying out monthly and this helps while I am recovering at home.
Karl Harris
on
Will unum have to pay her from the time of her initial claim?
Will unum pay her back her attorney fees that she had to pay?
Their is no offset in this case because she wasn't receiving anything from unum during this time. She started receiving ssdi before she was approve for the unum claim.
Any advice would be much appreciated!