UnumProvident Braces For Negative Story

NU Online News Service, Oct. 2, 11:31 a.m. – UnumProvident Corp., Chattanooga, Tenn., a large disability insurer, says it believes "at least one national news organization" is preparing to produce a "negative news story" about its process for handling claims.

"Management believes that the issues behind this story have been carefully packaged with the purpose of generating interest from various media outlets," the company says in a national news release. "The origins appear to be two sources: one is a group of plaintiffs' attorneys who are frequently involved in claim litigation against the company, and the other source is a small group of terminated employees."

UnumProvident notes that it paid more than $3.6 billion in disability-related benefits in 2001, and that it found that fewer than 2% of the 400,000 customers who filed new disability claims in 2001 were not disabled.