Breast cancer leads Unum’s long term disability cancer claims
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Return-to-work rates for people on Unum (NYSE: UNM) short term
disability claims due to breast cancer more than doubled from 2001 to
2007, rising from 28.8 percent to 59.4 percent.
In cases of long term disability, the rates rose more than 6 percent,
from 47 percent to 53.6 percent.
“It’s encouraging to see those return-to-work rates increasing for a
couple of reasons,” said Diane Garofalo, senior vice president of
Disability Benefits for Unum. “It means people are experiencing more
effective, less debilitating treatments, but it also means they are
returning to the sense of normalcy and routine that can be so beneficial
during a difficult time.”
Through research
and education, Unum offers employers guidance on how they can
support workers through cancer diagnosis and treatment, and help those
employees return successfully to the workplace.
“Breast Cancer Awareness Month sheds important light on this battle that
hundreds of thousands of people wage each year,” Garofalo said. “As a
leading provider of disability benefits, we know from helping our own
customers how devastating the diagnosis can be. We see every day the
difference disability benefits and critical illness coverage can make in
supporting people through this fight.”
Cancer has been the leading cause of long term disability claims for
Unum for the last nine years, and breast cancer is consistently the most
common type, accounting for nearly one in four long term disability
cancer claims.
In addition to being the leading cause of long term disability cancer
claims, breast cancer is responsible for nearly one in five short term
disability cancer claims at Unum.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most
common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. During
2010, about 207,090 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be
diagnosed in women.
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 paid approximately $6 billion in total benefits
to customers in 2009.
Source: Unum
Contact:
Unum
Mary Fortune, 423-294-6368
mfortune@unum.com