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Unum Named Most Frequently Used Voluntary Carrier in Broker Survey

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The number of brokers offering Unum's voluntary benefits - insurance coverage available through employers and usually paid for by employees - has more than quadrupled over the past decade.

The increase is evident in a recent survey by the Eastbridge Consulting Group in which Unum (NYSE: UNM) was named most frequently by brokers as one of their top three voluntary carriers. Colonial Life, Unum's sister company, was the second most frequently named voluntary carrier, according to Eastbridge's research that focused on brokers whose primary business is selling traditional employer-sponsored benefits.

As Eastbridge indicates, the increasing interest in voluntary benefits reflects the clear shift in how employee benefits are delivered in the workplace today.

"Benefit brokers are moving along the learning curve from only occasionally selling voluntary to using it as a cross-selling tool to actively and pro-actively selling voluntary," Eastbridge reports in "Employee Benefit Brokers and Voluntary: The Evolution Continues." "Today, 46 percent of benefit brokers are at the cross-selling stage and 30 percent are in the active or pro-active stage."

Voluntary benefits can play a key role in an employee financial protection plan. Unum points to several reasons behind the growth in adoption of these products.

"There's a much richer array of financial protection products available today - like supplemental medical, accident, critical illness and long term care - so brokers can help clients create options that really meet the needs of a diverse workforce," said Neiciee Durrence, vice president of voluntary benefits for Unum. "We also work closely with the broker and employer on an education and enrollment process that is easy, flexible and highly effective, backed by excellent ongoing customer service."

In another Eastbridge report, "2009 Voluntary/Worksite Marketing Industry Snapshot and Competitor Profiles," Unum was the only carrier for which Eastbridge cited only strengths, including:

    --  Service excellence
    --  Product breath
    --  Strong relationship with major accounts
    --  Use of technology, and
    --  Reputation for leadership in disability.

"In this economy, and certainly in the midst of health care reform, we also can't overlook the role voluntary benefits play in helping employers provide strong health and medical coverage," Durrence said. "Brokers are discovering that voluntary benefits mixed with traditional group coverage can help a business manage its costs and give employees the financial protection that is right for them."

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 Group provided $5.9 billion in total benefits to customers in 2009.

    Source: Unum