Tennessee-based employee benefits provider Unum Group, which has operations in Worcester, agreed to pay $5.55 million in fines for failing to report fees paid to a San Diego insurance broker, the Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, federal prosecutors said Unum paid fees to Universal Life Resources of San Diego between 2000 and 2004 without disclosing them. The broker secretly charged the insured millions of dollars in higher premiums based on the undisclosed fees, the AP said.
Unum’s $5.55 million penalty was part of an agreement to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s office. Unum spokesman Jim Sabourin told the AP the investigation was an industry issue that has involved other insurers and other states. He said Unum had changed its reporting practices.
