News Details

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

One year ago this week, Linda(1) suffered a debilitating stroke at the age of 52. This week, she's planning a Mother and Son Retreat at her two teenage sons' school. Tremendous family support, six months of in-home care covered by long term care insurance and a positive attitude helped Linda make a remarkable recovery.

"After coffee one morning with a girlfriend, I had an extremely bad headache that landed me in the ER. Doctors couldn't explain why it was severe but I was the picture of health so I went home," said Linda. "Five days later, on Nov. 8, I suffered a stroke that left me without the ability to walk and talk."

A wife and mother of four, Linda was determined to make a full and fast recovery. "I had a long term care policy that was originally purchased through my husband's employer and it covered the expenses of an in-home caregiver," said Linda. "Without the policy, I wouldn't have been able to receive all the help in home and maintain as much of a role in my children's lives as I was able."

Linda, who had a Unum (NYSE: UNM) long term care insurance policy, is among a growing number of individuals who need long term care at a relatively young age. Forty-six percent of Unum's group long term care claimants are under the age of 65 at the time of disability, Unum reveals in its third annual Landscape of Long Term Care report.

Over the years, Unum has tracked data that dispels the common misconception that long term care is just for the elderly in end-of-life situations.

"Baby boomers are hitting the age when long term care is on their minds, many times because they have their parents in mind," said John Noble, director of long term care. "But our data reveals that baby boomers themselves should think about their own long term care needs, even if they think it's too soon."

The Landscape of Long Term Care analysis of claims trends also shows:

    --  The leading causes for Unum's group long term care claims
        include brain and nervous system injuries.

    --  The average length of a Unum group long term care claim in the
        under-65 age group is 31 months.

    --  Sixty-six percent of Unum group long term care claimants
        received care at home while 13 percent received care in a
        nursing home.

    --  The average age of a person filing a long term care claim with
        Unum is 66. For claimants under the age of 65, the average age
        is 53.

    --  Six percent of Unum's group long term care claimants are under
        the age of 45.

Unum holds 76 percent of the group long term care market and has ranked No. 1 in the industry in terms of inforce cases and insured individuals for the past three years. In 2007, Unum covered 653,038 people under its long term care policies.

From an industry perspective, the American Association of Long Term Care Insurance (AALTCI) revealed that some 180,000 Americans with long term care insurance policies were paid a total of $3.5 billion in benefits in 2007. Unum processed just over 1,000 claims and paid $15.6 million in benefits in 2007.

Unless referenced otherwise, the statistics included in this news release are based on Unum internal data as of 2007.

    (1) Names are changed to protect the privacy of Unum claimants.

    About Unum

Unum (www.unum.com) is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through its subsidiaries, Unum provided more than $6 billion in total benefits to customers in 2007.

Source: Unum