Unum 2006 Annual Report Download - page 36

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Mr. Horn became Executive Vice President, President and Chief Executive Officer of Colonial Life & Accident
Insurance Company in March 2004. Prior to joining the Company, he served as Executive Vice President of Mutual
of Omaha Insurance Company from September 1981 until September 2003.
Ms. Ring became Executive Vice President, Chief Executive Officer of Unum Limited in November 2006. She
served as Chairman and Managing Director of Unum Limited from December 2002 until November 2006. She
served as Operations Director from 1999 until 2002 and prior to that time was Director of Risk Management. Ms.
Ring joined Unum Limited as Director of Customer Services in 1995.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Discussed below are certain factors that may adversely affect our business, financial position, or results of
operations. Any one or more of the following factors may cause our actual results for various financial reporting
periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements made by or on behalf of the
Company. See “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” contained herein on page 1.
Regulation
Our U.S. insurance subsidiaries are subject to extensive supervision and regulation. The regulations may affect the
cost or demand for our products and may hinder us from taking desired actions to increase our profitability. Our
insurance company subsidiaries may not be able to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, permits, authorizations, or
accreditations, or may be able to do so only at great cost. In addition, we may not be able to comply fully with, or
obtain appropriate exemptions from, the wide variety of laws and regulations applicable to insurance companies and
insurance holding companies. Failure to comply with or to obtain appropriate exemptions under any applicable laws
could result in restrictions on our ability to do business in one or more of the jurisdictions in which we operate and
could result in fines and other sanctions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of
operations.
Congress, as well as foreign, state, and local governments, could enact legislation related to changes in tax laws that
could increase our tax costs or affect the desirability of our products by consumers.
ERISA was passed by Congress in 1974. One of the purposes of ERISA was to reserve for federal authority the sole
power to regulate the field of employee benefits. ERISA eliminated the threat of conflicting or inconsistent state and
local regulation of employee benefit plans. In doing so, ERISA pre-empted all state laws except those that
specifically regulated the business of insurance. ERISA also provides an exclusive remedial scheme for any action
brought by ERISA plan participants and beneficiaries. ERISA has allowed plan administrators and plan fiduciaries
to efficiently manage employee benefit plans in the United States. Most group long-term and short-term income
protection plans administered by the Company are governed by ERISA. Changes to ERISA enacted by Congress or
via judicial interpretations could adversely affect the risk of managing employee benefit plans, increase the
premiums associated with such plans, and ultimately affect their affordability.
Unum Limited is subject to regulation by the FSA in the U.K. U.K. laws and regulations generally grant
supervisory agencies and self-regulatory organizations broad administrative powers, including the power to limit or
restrict Unum Limited from doing business in the event that it fails to comply with such laws and regulations.
Many regulatory and governmental bodies have the authority to review our products and business practices and
those of our agents and employees. These regulatory or governmental bodies may bring regulatory or other legal
actions against us if, in their view, our practices are improper. These actions can result in substantial fines or
restrictions on our business activities and could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of
operations.