At his first annual meeting as Unum’s CEO, Richard P. McKenney told shareholders that he sees increasing demand for the company’s products and services, and that the company is well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities and expand its reach.

“We look to the future with optimism because the need for what we do has never been greater and we see a tremendous opportunity to continue to grow the market,” said McKenney.

“We approach it from a position of strength,” he added. “Last year we generated strong financial results, consistent operating performance and significant growth across our businesses. As a result, we continue to be well-positioned both financially and strategically to capitalize on the opportunities ahead.”

A key competitive advantage for Unum, said McKenney, is the depth and breadth of its experience in employee benefits, as well as its track record of consistently meeting its commitments to stakeholders.

In 2015, Unum paid $6.8 billion in benefits and helped some 327,000 people return to work following a disability. Sales and premium each rose 5 percent, while operating earnings per share grew for the 10th consecutive year.

The company also increased its dividend for the seventh consecutive year and repurchased more than $425 million of its stock in 2015, bringing the amount repurchased since 2007 to $3.3 billion, or 36 percent of shares outstanding.

“I truly believe we are not only stronger today than ever before, but that we are uniquely positioned for growth and continued financial success,” he added.

McKenney was named CEO at last year’s annual meeting upon the retirement of Thomas Watjen, who served as CEO for 12 years and is now non-executive chairman of the board. Concluding his first full year as CEO, McKenney says he sees a tremendous opportunity to continue to grow the market by helping people plan for unforeseen circumstances rather than hope against them.

“Many workers in the U.S. and U.K. lack access to benefits that can preserve their financial stability in the face of an unexpected event. We believe we are uniquely positioned to address this pressing societal issue.”

Unum made a key acquisition last year with the purchase of National Dental Plan in the U.K. Earlier this year, Unum announced plans to acquire Starmount Life Insurance Company, a leading dental and vision benefits provider, as it seeks to capitalize on the recent growth in those markets and expand its already-broad portfolio of employee benefits.

For 2016, McKenney says the company aims to further the momentum it has built over the last decade. He anticipates continued top-line growth while maintaining solid operating margins and significant financial flexibility to support the needs of its businesses.

“We are in good operating businesses with strong market positions, and we’ve built a solid financial foundation,” he said. “By continuing to anticipate the needs of our customers, and by remaining disciplined in everything we do, we’ll be well-positioned to deliver even greater value to our shareholders in the future.”

Also at today’s meeting, Unum shareholders voted to re-elect 13 directors for terms expiring in 2017: Theodore H. Bunting, Jr.; E. Michael Caulfield; Joseph J. Echevarria; Cynthia L. Egan; Pamela H. Godwin; Kevin T. Kabat; Timothy F. Keaney; Gloria C. Larson; Richard P. McKenney; Edward J. Muhl; Ronald P. O’Hanley; Francis J. Shammo; and Thomas R. Watjen.

A.S. (Pat) MacMillan, Jr., and William J. Ryan, lead independent director, retired from the board today after having reached mandatory retirement age. Kevin T. Kabat became the new lead independent director.

Separately today, the company’s board of directors authorized an increase of 8 percent in the quarterly dividend paid on its common stock. The new rate of 20 cents per common share, or 80 cents per share on an annual basis, will be effective with the dividend expected to be paid in the third quarter of 2016. The board also authorized the repurchase of up to $750 million of the company’s outstanding stock through Nov. 26, 2017, replacing the previous authorization of $750 million that was scheduled to expire later this year.

ABOUT UNUM GROUP

Unum Group 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 last year.

For more information, visit us at www.unum.com or connect with us at www.facebook.com/unumbenefits, www.twitter.com/unumnews and www.linkedin.com/company/unum.

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 and speak only as of the date made. These forward-looking statements, including statements about continued investment in our businesses and return of capital, are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. The following factors, in addition to other factors mentioned from time to time, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements: (1) sustained periods of low interest rates; (2) fluctuation in insurance reserve liabilities and claim payments due to changes in claim incidence, recovery rates, mortality and morbidity rates, and policy benefit offsets due to, among other factors, the rate of unemployment and consumer confidence, the emergence of new diseases, epidemics, or pandemics, new trends and developments in medical treatments, the effectiveness of our claims operational processes, and changes in government programs; (3) unfavorable economic or business conditions, both domestic and foreign; (4) legislative, regulatory, or tax changes, both domestic and foreign, including the effect of potential legislation and increased regulation in the current political environment; (5) investment results, including, but not limited to, changes in interest rates, defaults, changes in credit spreads, impairments, and the lack of appropriate investments in the market which can be acquired to match our liabilities; (6) a cyber attack or other security breach could result in the unauthorized disclosure of confidential data; (7) the failure of our business recovery and incident management processes to resume our business operations in the event of a natural catastrophe, cyber attack, or other event; (8) increased competition from other insurers and financial services companies due to industry consolidation, new entrants to our markets, or other factors; (9) execution risk related to our technology needs; (10) changes in our financial strength and credit ratings; (11) damage to our reputation due to, among other factors, regulatory investigations, legal proceedings, external events, and/or inadequate or failed internal controls and procedures; (12) actual experience that deviates from our assumptions used in pricing, underwriting, and reserving; (13) actual persistency and/or sales growth that is higher or lower than projected; (14) changes in demand for our products due to, among other factors, changes in societal attitudes, the rate of unemployment, consumer confidence, and/or legislative and regulatory changes, including healthcare reform; (15) effectiveness of our risk management program; (16) contingencies and the level and results of litigation; (17) availability of reinsurance in the market and the ability of our reinsurers to meet their obligations to us; (18) ineffectiveness of our derivatives hedging programs due to changes in the economic environment, counterparty risk, ratings downgrades, capital market volatility, changes in interest rates, and/or regulation; (19) changes in accounting standards, practices, or policies; (20) fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates; (21) ability to generate sufficient internal liquidity and/or obtain external financing; (22) recoverability and/or realization of the carrying value of our intangible assets, long-lived assets, and deferred tax assets; and (23) terrorism, both within the U.S. and abroad, ongoing military actions, and heightened security measures in response to these types of threats.

For further discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see Part 1, 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.