Unum Group Shares Downgraded to Neutral

New York, NYThe Unum Group was downgraded to Neutral from Buy by the equities research analysts at SunTrust in a research note that was issued to investors, according to Equities.com.

Localized USA reported that SunTrust analysts were not the only ones to drop the Unum Group, as Citigroup cut its price target on shares from the insurance company in a research note that was sent to investors.

The news source reported that the same move was mirrored by analysts at Zacks Investment Research, as they both reiterated a Neutral rating and dropped their price target on the shares below the Citigroup projections.

Unum Group and its insurance and non-insurance subsidiaries operate in the US, the UK and, to a limited extent, in other countries worldwide. The main arm of the company in the US provides disability insurance products, and provides employee-paid group benefits, life insurance and long-term care insurance, according to the news source.

This downgrade in the value of the company's shares comes as several cases have popped up in the US regarding claims by individuals over disability benefits that they were allegedly entitled to.

WSOC Charlotte 9 reported that a Banner Elk, North Carolina man alleged that he was denied thousands of dollars in disability benefits after he was told by his doctor that he had recovered from surgery when he hadn't healed.

John Hilley told the news source that he was receiving $3,000 per month in disability payments from Unum Group, his insurer. However, they allegedly cut his benefits when his orthopedic surgeon told the insurance company that he had fully recovered from the procedure, forcing him to contact upper management.

"They kept telling me, 'We're in review, we're in review, we're in review,'" Hilley said. "I went all the way to top management (and) he kept telling me, 'We're in review.'"

While this occurred, Hilley allegedly had no money coming in and bills piling up, according to the news source.