Company sets ambitious growth plans for dental and vision business
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Unum (NYSE: UNM) has completed its purchase of H&J Capital, LLC, parent
of Starmount Life Insurance Company and AlwaysCare Benefits
(“Starmount”), a leading independent dental and vision benefits company
that will support Unum’s long-term growth plans for workplace financial
protection products.
“We are excited to welcome Starmount to the Unum family and to establish
Baton Rouge as our center of excellence for the dental and vision
market,” said Unum President and CEO Rick McKenney. “This is an
excellent fit for both our Unum US and Colonial Life businesses and is
an important component of our long-term strategic growth plan.”
Unum is a leading nationwide provider of financial protection benefits
at work, including disability, life and supplemental health products.
Starmount covers more than 940,000 lives nationally, manages in-force
annualized premium in excess of $180 million and has access to
significant national dental and vision networks.
“We see strong demand for dental and vision insurance in the market
today,” said Unum US President Mike Simonds. “Starmount’s solid products
and networks, combined with Unum’s scale and capabilities, will help us
create real value for our clients and expand access to financial
protection benefits in the workplace.”
Founded by the Sternberg family in 1983, Starmount will remain
headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., with a leadership team including CEO
Erich Sternberg and President Deborah Sternberg and a staff of more than
220 employees.
“We are glad to be part of the Unum family and look forward to helping
provide greater access to dental and vision insurance at the workplace
and to consumers,” said Starmount CEO Erich Sternberg. “We have
ambitious growth plans and share Unum’s focus on providing exceptional
service, innovative products and thoughtful solutions for our customers.”
Starmount will become the fourth brand under the Unum Group umbrella
alongside Unum US, Unum UK and Colonial Life. Unum Dental and Unum
Vision products will be underwritten by Starmount and introduced to the
market in 2017. Colonial Life Dental and Vision will be introduced in
2018.
ABOUT UNUM GROUP
Unum Group (www.unum.com)
is a leading provider of financial protection benefits in the United
States and the United Kingdom. Its primary businesses are Unum US,
Colonial Life and Unum UK. Unum’s portfolio includes disability, life,
accident and critical illness coverage, which help protect millions of
working people and their families in the event of an illness or injury.
The company reported revenues of $10.7 billion in 2015, and provided
$6.8 billion in benefits.
ABOUT STARMOUNT LIFE AND ALWAYSCARE BENEFITS
Starmount Life Insurance Company (www.starmountlife.com)
is a national insurance carrier admitted in 49 states and D.C., and
AlwaysCare Benefits is a nationally licensed, third-party administrator.
Known for exceptional service and customer satisfaction, Starmount Life
and AlwaysCare Benefits are national providers and administrators of
life and supplemental insurance, including dental and vision, for
individuals and groups.
SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT
Certain information in this press release constitutes “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those not based on
historical information, but rather relate to our outlook, future
operations, strategies, financial results, or other developments, may
include words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,”
“believes,” “estimates,” and similar expressions, and speak only as of
the date made. These forward-looking statements, including statements
regarding growth expectations and the timing of the introduction of
dental and vision products to our markets, are subject to numerous
assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our
control. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause our actual future results to differ
materially from those projected or contemplated in the forward-looking
statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our
ability to effectively manage growth and our ability to effectively
execute and integrate acquisitions. Given the risks and uncertainties
inherent in forward-looking statements, any of our forward-looking
statements could be incorrect and investors are cautioned not to place
undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.
For further discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause
actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, see Item 1A. “Risk Factors” of our annual report on Form
10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and, to the extent applicable,
our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking
statements in this press release are being made as of the date of this
press release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein, even if
made available on our website or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160801006128/en/
Unum
Investors:
Tom White, 423-294-8996
Matt Barnett,
423-294-7498
or
Media:
MC Guenther, 423-294-6108 or
866-750-8686
Rene Milligan, 225-400-9137
Source: Unum