CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Unum (NYSE: UNM) rang The
Closing BellSM on the New York Stock Exchange today in
commemoration of its 25th anniversary on the exchange and in
recognition of more than 160 years of service to the financial
protection industry.
“Today our company represents many proud companies - Unum, Provident,
Paul Revere and Colonial Life to name a few - that together have
successfully served our markets for generations,” said President and CEO
Tom Watjen. “The past 25 years, in particular, have been a significant
period of change and consolidation for our company, but our focus today
on the critical importance of employee benefits has never been stronger.”
Predecessor company Unum, founded in 1849, became a publicly traded
company in November 1986. Today the company works with nearly 40 percent
of the Fortune 500, providing coverage for up to 25 million people in
the U.S. and U.K.
“We are very proud of our history and are keenly aware of the unique
value provided by our workplace benefits of disability, life, accident
and critical illness insurance,” Watjen continued. “These
employer-sponsored financial protection benefits provide a critical
financial safety net for individuals and families, particularly lower-
and middle-income working Americans.”
Watjen cited a recent groundbreaking report that Unum commissioned from
Charles River Associates that quantifies the immense economic and social
value financial protection products.
Group disability insurance, for example, provides billions of dollars in
benefits each year when a wage-earner is sidelined because of illness or
injury, but the benefits extend to the federal government as well. The
analysis finds that disability benefits protect as many as 500,000
families a year from impoverishment, contributing to a savings for the
taxpayer of up to $4.5 billion a year.
“While many employers do offer private disability insurance to their
employees, a full two-thirds of working Americans don’t have access to
this type of safety net,” Watjen said. “As the leader in the disability
business, we will continue to build on our distinguished heritage and
industry expertise to bring important financial protection to working
Americans.”
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 2010.
Unum Group
Investors:
Thomas A. H. White, 423-294-8996
Rob
Lockerman, 423-294-7498
or
Media:
Jim Sabourin,
423-294-6300 or 866-759-8686
Source: Unum