Have Unum received any awards or third-party recognition for their work?
Unum are currently: Best Group Risk Provider, Health Insurance Awards 2011 and Best Group Income Protection Provider, COVER Excellence Awards 2011.
Has Unum ever won any awards for its rehabilitation work?
In the last five years, Unum and its employees have won, been highly commended, or been shortlisted for seven Rehabilitation First Awards. Unum’s rehabilitation case managers help employers actively manage sickness absence issues and can help employers improve their bottom line by working with them to minimise long-term sickness absence rates.
I’ve seen some negative reviews on Unum online. Are these from authentic or recent Unum customers?
Like most companies, we are active on the internet and our position as a leading provider of Income Protection perhaps gives us more exposure to negative comments than some. Some websites that appear in a simple Google.com search for Unum have been developed by lawyers who have represented claimants and are attempting to elicit new business – it’s important to bear this in mind when reviewing the information on these sites.
AskUnum is a blog and forum that has been developed to engage with a wide audience and answer questions in an open and honest manner to de-mystify Income Protection. Over the coming weeks, look out for further interesting material explaining what Income Protection is, what it isn’t, how it has helped others, and so on. If you would like to ask a question about Unum or Income Protection, you can do so here.
Is it true that Unum is banned from operating in many US states?
The allegation that Unum is banned from operating in some US states is false.
Tell us about your past and current relationship with ATOS
Unum UK currently has no relationship with ATOS Ltd. Until September 2009, it provided Income Protection to ATOS Ltd for ATOS’s staff.
How much involvement did Unum have in the drafting of the Work Capability Assessment (if any)?
Unum attended the first meeting with the DWP to feed into the assessment criteria for incapacity benefit. The system design was managed by other organisations and Unum had no involvement or visibility of this.
What was Unum’s involvement with Cardiff University?
In 2003, we were approached by Peter Halligan at Cardiff University to sponsor its Centre for Psychosocial and Disability Research. We accepted this invitation with the aim of furthering knowledge and understanding of the psychosocial, economic and cultural factors that influence health, illness, recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration. We were not involved in any research that was carried out and the sponsorship ended in June 2009.
As a result, a series of papers was published, identifying the range of factors that determine why some people become long term absentees. It also helped us to understand the biopsychosocial model which has informed our approach to medical underwriting.
Professor Sir Mansel Aylward, former Chief Medical Adviser, Medical Director and Chief Scientist to the UK’s Department for Work and Pensions was appointed by Cardiff University as Director of the Centre. The Centre retained independence over this appointment.
At the same time, Unum and other insurance companies were called upon by Government as part of the welfare reform consultation. During this period, our only association with Professor Sir Mansel Aylward was in the capacity of the Centre and in no way influenced the consultation.
I’ve heard that Unum use the biopsychosocial model. What does this mean and how do Unum use it?
In 1977, psychiatrist George L Engel first introduced the biopsychosocial model, or BPS.
The idea is that the impact of an illness on a person isn’t just a result of the purely medical elements. Physical (e.g. disease, joint damage), psychological (e.g. disposition, anxiety) and social factors (e.g. work demands, family support) also play an important role. In simple terms, this means that physical, mental and social factors can all influence the ways in which people respond differently to the same disease. This can mean that two people can have the same medical symptoms, but one recovers and one doesn’t – because of their different circumstances and mindsets.
This is clearly relevant for Unum, where on the one hand we do medical underwriting as part of the insurance application process, and on the other we provide an extensive, market-leading rehabilitation service to help people get back to normality.
In medical underwriting it’s important to help predict which people are likely to become long term sick. It also shapes our approach to rehabilitation for a particular person – identifying the barriers which may prevent them from making a successful return to work following an illness, and helping them overcome those barriers.
Incorporating BPS principles was first trialled by Unum in 2006 in medical underwriting, after three years of close analysis of our claims experience. The insurance application form that includes BPS is a little longer than it used to be, and concentrates on attitudes and behaviours that give us information about how likely illness or injury would be to cause long-term sickness for someone. On the other hand, this means that much less medical evidence is needed these days to support the application. Customers can then, in most cases, get their cover in place in a few days rather than having to wait several weeks for reports to come in. If customers prefer, we will collect the information needed from the applicant by telephone or even, where appropriate, in their workplace.
By asking more extensive questions on the application, such as sickness records and attitudes to healthy living, we can assess the risk in the round, taking account of both medical and all other surrounding factors. We are then often able to insure those that other insurers see as ‘uninsurable’. In addition, we’re able to consider providing cover for people who may have had potentially serious illnesses such as cancer, back pain or have had a heart attack before they applied for insurance.
My Income policy which I took out around 15 years ago states that upon a claim it will not pay the benefits when you ‘retire’. I am 51 years of age and under the terms of my Employer’s Final Salary Occupational Scheme I was permitted under the Scheme Rules to commence withdrawing a reduced pension, which I have been doing so since May 2010. I remained in my Employer’s employment until 31 July this year when I was made Compulsory made redundant. It is now that I wish to make claim under my IP policy. The DWP have issued me with a Job Seekers Allowance letter informing me that because I am in receipt of this pension I do not qualify for JSA, which I knew this would be the outcome. When I submit my claim to the Insurers would they be within the right to reject the claim on the grounds that, in their opinion, I have ‘retired’ ? I am not ‘retired’ and still seeking and able to work.
Thanks for your question.
If the income protection policy you mention is your ex-company policy, cover would normally cease on being made redundant.
If the policy is your own individual policy, the treatment of any claim would depend upon the actual wording of the policy and your insurer should be able to provide guidance.
We hope this answers your question.
Best wishes, the AskUnum team
Throughout my career I worked for 6 different employers and achieved a good degree of success, but at the age of 48 I suffered a severe Stroke that ended my working days. Fortunately my employer had an imcome protection policy with Unum and so six years on I continue to be financially supported.
I’d rather have my health and still be working, but as that is not possible I am very glad for my employers care and consideration and thankful for the quality of Unum’s policy.
Thanks so much for your comments Paul – it’s really great to hear this kind of feedback.
Best wishes,
The AskUnum team.
You say Unum isn’t banned from operating from some States in the USA, How about UnumProvident? Wasn’t the company banned from operating on some states while the company was called UnumProvident, before its rebranding as Unum in other words?
You say “Unum UK currently has no relationship with ATOS Ltd.” yet one of your former high-ranking executives, Michael O-Donnell, left the company to become a similarly high-ranking executive at Atos in the UK, did he not? So one may reasonably assume that there’d still be interaction, if only on an informal basis, between the executives of the two companies, and thus a distinct and ongoing relationship exists albeit not an overt business relationship?
Hi Kay,
The allegation that Unum is banned from operating in some US states is false. Unum has never been suspended or barred from operating in any State or anywhere else for that matter. The rebrand from “UnumProvident Corporation” to “Unum” in 2007 was simply a marketing decision to reflect our focus on group employee benefits.
Unum has had a presence in the UK since 1990 when Unum Corporation purchased NEL and became the parent company of N.E.L Permanent Health Insurances Limited (NELPHI). In 1991, NELPHI changed its name to Unum Limited. Unum Limited is regulated by the FSA and takes its regulatory obligations very seriously indeed. Unum has not been fined or publicly censured by the FSA or any other regulator.
You’re correct that Unum’s former Chief Medical Officer, Michael O’Donnell joined ATOS’ Occupational Health Arm. For clarity, Michael O’Donnell was not a member of Unum’s Board or Executive Committee. It was his personal choice and right to join ATOS. But it should be clarified that ATOS and Unum have no commercial relationship.
Unum and ATOS both employ doctors who are specialists in disability. In Unum’s case, we work closely with clinical professionals with a breadth of expertise to ensure that treatment of claimants is fair and helpful. It is therefore possible that staff with relevant skills will move between the two organisations.
Best wishes,
The AskUnum team
Can you confirm that UNUMProvident was described, by Mr. John Garammendi, California Insurance Commissioner as:-
“An outlaw company. It is a company who for years has operated in an illegal fashion”
I am one of your disenfranchised victims.
Hi Robert,
In December 2004, the company and several states entered into a regulatory settlement agreement. The multistate review was completed in April 2008.
In a press release, Maine Insurance Superintendent Mila Kofman said, “Not only is this an example of state insurance regulators working effectively to protect the nation’s insurance consumers, it is also an example of an insurer reforming its practices and becoming a model for other insurers. The strong new processes and the resulting change in corporate culture – measured by a very low rate and in some cases a 0% error in claim determinations is remarkable”.
You can read the full statement here:
http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=INS-PressReleases&id=54160&v=Default
Best wishes,
The AskUnum team
As a student of psychology i studied Eriksons stages of psychosocial development at some length and have never heard of Erikson being associated with a biopsychosocial model of behaviour.Could you direct me to your evidence for this claim?
Thanks for your comment Dean.
By “practical use” of the biopsychosocial model, we are referring to Erikson’s articulation of the stages of psychosocial development in a person’s life. Erikson talks about the psychosocial crises we face as we pass through the stages of our lives that shape us, influence our attitudes and beliefs and (in the context of disability risk management), affect our resilience – our approach to health, wellbeing, society and work.
We’ve taken out the line on Erikson from our current description on the BPS (above) to avoid further confusion.
You can also read more about Erikson on: http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Eriksons-Psychosocial-Development-Theory/127074
Best wishes,
The AskUnum team
I’m sorry but you have not answered my question. I’ll try again.
Can you confirm that Mr. John Garamendi, Insurance Commissioner for California, in 2005 described UNUM in the following manner:
“Unum Provident is an outlaw company. It is a company that for years has operated in an illegal fashion.”
A simple YES or NO will suffice.
Thank you.
The comment you mention by Mr. John Garammendi, California Insurance Commissioner relates to a California Department of Insurance (DOI) investigation of Unum and yes, he did indeed say that.
However, Unum was never found in violation of any laws and agreed to make changes to our claims process and to reassess all denied claims from the period in question. As the California DOI was unsuccessful in trying to get all insurers to agree to the types of changes Unum made, today our claims processes in California are more rigorous than many of our competitors.
Best wishes,
The AskUnum team.