23.05.2005 17:37:00
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Urgent Reminder for UnumProvident Policyholders!
LOS ANGELES, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Frank Darras, America's leading disability litigator reminds UnumProvident , Paul Revere Life Insurance Co., Unum National Insurance Co., and Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., policyholders that time is running out to become part of the Multi-State Settlement Agreement.
"Time is ticking away and we are down to the wire on getting this message out to disabled policyholders. There are approximately 30-days left for these folks to submit their information to UnumProvident and participate," says Darras. "It would be tragic for even one disabled person to miss this final opportunity to get what they rightfully deserve."
What Every Claimant Needs To Know: 1) 215,000 previously denied insureds have one last chance to convince UnumProvident through the reassessment settlement agreement that they have been truly disabled. 2) For those entitled claimants denied in calendar years 2000-2004, the Company is still sending notices to claimants around the country and each insured has 60-days from their receipt of notice to return the Request To Participate Form. 3) For claimants denied in calendar years 1997-1999, the Company HAS NOT and WILL NOT SEND ANY NOTICES. Unfortunately for these claimants, the only way to learn of their opportunity to participate is through word of mouth, reading about the agreement on the Internet or seeing an article in the newspaper. For these people, time is not on their side, as they must formally contact the Company within 180-days from the date their state signed the agreement or they are precluded from participating. The timeline for these claimants in all states, except for California and Montana, has diminished to approximately 30-days.
"The Multi-State Settlement Agreement has come at a time when many thousands of claimants who had missed the opportunity to file an action against the Company, were completely out of luck. With blown statutes of limitations, there was literally nothing they could do. This Agreement restores blown statutes and is a last chance opportunity everyone should be happy about. People have to move quickly if they want to be included," reminds Darras.
What You Need To Do, Today:
Once the actual reassessment begins, UnumProvident will evaluate the earliest denials starting with 1997 first, then move on to later years," says Darras. For those contemplating participation, Darras suggests:
First, don't give up, you can do this and you must get organized and move fast!
Second, if you were denied between January 1, 1997 and December 31, 1999, you have 180 days from the date your state signed on to the multi-state agreement to make your formal request, in order to participate. You now have approximately 30-days to submit your information. Organize your paperwork and substantiating documents for future reference. Submit the following information in your formal request and send it registered mail.
1) Your Name 2) Your Current Address 3) Insuring Company Name 4) Last four digits of social security number 5) Claim number 6) Date of claim
Third, if you were denied between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2004, you have 60-days from the date on your notice to have mailed in your "Request To Participate Form"; then 180 days to supply the medical, occupational, vocational and financial evidence supporting your disability. Determine TODAY if you still have time to submit your form, if the answer is YES, do it NOW. If you have not yet received your letter, UnumProvident is in the process of sending them, so watch carefully for you letter, understanding that there are only have 60-days from the date of your letter, to respond. Send your response registered mail.
What You Need To Know: 1) The reassessment will allow you to include your social security disability award whether you received it before or after your denial. As a result of the reassessment, the Company will generally give that decision significant weight. 2) Your treating doctor's opinion that you are disabled will now include both your subjective and your objective evidence of impairment. 3) If you were disabled from more than one condition, UnumProvident will collectively evaluate all of your limitations including side- affects from your medications to determine impairment. 4) If an independent examiner is necessary to break any disability ties on impairment, an unbiased, financially disinterested, fully trained and skilled examiner must now be selected. 5) Before any in-house Company doctor can opine on your impairment, they must be skilled, trained and have all of your medical information in hand before a final decision will be made. 6) Upper claim management will now be involved at the earliest stages of the claim process to lend breadth and depth of experience to all reassessment decisions. 7) Claim personnel involved in the reassessment process will undergo rigorous training on the new claim objectives to ensure Best Claim Practices with vigilant monitoring and oversight. 8) The Company has agreed to keep all of the new claim objectives in place after the reassessment process concludes December 31, 2006. These new objectives will create a good faith checklist so claim personnel can continue to improve their good faith handling on all UnumProvident disability claims. 9) If your claim was denied in California or Montana, the Departments of Insurance in these states are still negotiating with UnumProvident and the regulators. Parameters for having your claims reviewed have not yet been set and we will notify you once respective decisions are made for California and Montana claimants.
"We hope by putting out this release that we can reach disabled policyholders and that every single UnumProvident claimant who was denied knows about this final chance to have their claims honored. We are privileged to be helping claimants in every state that has signed on to the Multi-State Settlement Agreement, get hard answers to tough questions," says Darras.
Individuals with questions are encouraged to call Frank Darras at 800-458-3386 or visit the website at http://www.sbd-law.com/. For information on UnumProvident, you can visit http://www.state.tn.us/ .
About Frank Darras
Frank N. Darras is America's leading plaintiffs lawyer, representing disabled policyholders and long-term care insureds. He is annually honored for his dedication to helping those unable to afford representation because he remembers his humble beginnings and tackles America's most difficult cases.
About Shernoff, Bidart and Darras
AT SHERNOFF BIDART & DARRAS, our attorneys are caring, competent and compassionate about righting insurance company wrongs. As plaintiff's lawyers working on a contingency fee basis, we get paid only if and when our clients get paid. That means that our dedication and allegiance is to our clients -- not to prolonging or complicating the legal process. This solidarity we have with our clients distinguishes us among many other attorneys in the business. It gives us the fire and fight to protect and serve the interests of every policyholder, rich or poor. We believe we have the hardest working and most talented staff in the profession -- and with our track record, that's one claim that is hard to deny.
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