Unum Group profits up in half

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--Unum Group recorded $331.8 million in net income for the six months ending June 30, a gain of 67.1% over the prior-year period, the largest disability insurer in the United States and the United Kingdom said Wednesday.

Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Unum attributed its improved results to recent income growth for several of its units.

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Co., for instance, reported a 30.1% increase in operating income to $64.9 million in the second quarter of 2007 compared with the year-earlier quarter, helped by favorable mortality experience for its life business and positive claims outcomes for its income protection line.

The net income gain for the half also was shaped by a multistate settlement with regulators in 2004 in which Unum allowed insureds to resubmit claims, the company said. The total expense is expected to reach $600 million, with an $86 million pretax charge recorded during the first quarter of 2006.

Unum UK also benefited from lower claims incidence for its group long-term income protection coverage.

Unum U.S., however, saw its operating income for the second quarter decline 11.7% to $92.3 million, compared with the comparable quarter in 2006. Within that segment, the group income protection line reported an operating loss of $15.4 million in the second quarter of 2007, compared with earning operating income of $10.4 million during the same period a year earlier.