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6 UNUM 2012 ANNUAL REPORT
Despite what I would continue to characterize as a tough
environment for our business, the principles that have
served us so well in the past will continue to serve us in
the future — especially maintaining discipline in our pricing,
in our investments, and in the management of our balance
sheet and capital position. These have been hallmarks of
this company, and have served us well, and there’s no
reason to change now.
While this may sound like we will be playing defense in
2013, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As I mentioned
earlier, although we will always seek ways to improve
our business, we are clearly operating from a position of
strength, and are seeking ways to profitably expand the
market for our financial protection products and services.
In my opinion the needs have never been greater for the
things that we do. Why? Seventy percent of Americans and
ninety percent of Britons lack disability insurance coverage
and, to a lesser extent, the other basic financial protections
we offer. It’s unlikely that the public sector can fill this void
considering the funding issues affecting those programs in
the U.S. and U.K. At the same time, the vast majority of life
and disability insurance is purchased in the workplace —
which is our focus.
The result is that I continue to believe we are in a long-
term growth business. With our singular focus on this
business, the strength of our brand, the investments
we are making in the business and our strong financial
platform, I am confident that if there are opportunities
to profitably grow our market and further leverage this
unique platform, we’ll find them.
As I noted earlier, my confidence in our ability to build
from the success we have had comes from our people.
They are highly engaged in the business, dedicated to
doing the right thing, deliver on our commitments each
day, and are focused on the future. I can’t express enough
how much I appreciate all they do for this company and
its customers, communities and shareholders.
Return on Equity
Unum US Unum UK Colonial
Life Closed
Block
Total
2012
12.3%
13.8%
12.2%
16.8%
2.8%
Share Repurchases Dividends
2008 $700 million —
2009 — +10%
2010 $356 million +12%
2011 $620 million +14%
2012 $500 million +24%
TOTAL $2,176 million $578 million
Dividends & Shares Repurchased