Unum history

1864: In what would become the first of many firsts, Union Mutual becomes the first American company to reinsure the business of another by reinsuring Chicago Mutual Life.

Union Mutual had financial troubles in the 1870's.

In 1876 John E. DeWitt was named president of Union Mutual.

The founders were forced to reverse their medical-aid policies almost immediately, after realizing that a single yellow fever epidemic--like the one in 1878--could wipe out the company.

Chattanooga's future seemed limitless in 1887, as steel went into production south of the Mason-Dixon Line for the first time, and the mineral wealth ignited development.

By 1892 Provident also had moved through 15 directors, and two Scotsmen offered to pay $1,000 for a one-half interest in the directionless company.

Thomas Maclellan and John McMaster bought out the other owners by 1895.

Beginning as far back as 1896, there had been an increasing tendency to use as symbol an engraving of the lighthouse built on Portland Head.

Their partnership ended in 1900 because of differences, and, by prior agreement, the company went to the higher bidder.

In 1905, the Armstrong Committee's investigation of New York State's insurance industry sparked more public mistrust, and state legislatures moved to enact reforms, including requirements of larger reserves.

In 1909 Provident was forced to withdraw from Alabama and West Virginia after legislative reforms.

Maclellan reorganized the company from being mutually held to a stock company in 1910.

In 1911 Provident's previously shrunken territory doubled when it entered North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama.

At the end of 1915, Provident had increased its premium income by $100,000 over the previous year.

By the end of 1916, the company had a more than 65 percent increase in premium income.

Provident began selling life insurance the following year, in 1917, and the first life insurance policy issued by the company covered Robert Maclellan's life.

Provident thrived along with the United States economy in the 1920s.

1924: Union Mutual offers the industry's first group life insurance plan.

Because the company maintained a policy of fair, prompt payment, only three of the 48,000 claims Provident processed in 1926 ended up in court.

Provident operated in 34 states by 1928.

The 1929 acquisition of the Meridian Insurance Company, of West Virginia, added another $300,000 in premiums.

1930: The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company is founded by the MPA to expand its business beyond serving Masons.

In 1931 Provident purchased the accident insurance business of the Southern Surety Company.

By its 50th anniversary, in 1937, Provident's assets were nearly $10 million, and it had an annual premium income of $7.5 million.

1939: Provident becomes the first insurer to offer disability benefits.

1940: Union Mutual expands into accident and health insurance.

In 1946 Provident's accident and health income had grown by 25 percent over the year before.

The company expanded into Canada in 1948.

The company's first subsidiary was formed in 1951, the Provident Life and Casualty Insurance Company.

In 1952 R.L. Maclellan succeeded his father, Robert J. Maclellan, as president.

Of 250 companies writing group life in 1954, Provident ranked 11th.

In 1955 it wrote the largest single group hospital and surgical policy in history, with premiums exceeding $5 million annually.

Robert J. Maclellan died in 1956, not long after celebrating his 50th year with the company.

In 1964 Provident reported $5 billion worth of life insurance in force. It closed the decade with triple the assets and premium income of 1959.

In 1960 Provident made another move into larger quarters.

The History of the Union Mutual Life Insurance Company. by George S. Jackson; Portland, Maine, 1964.

Also in 1969, the Maine legislature enacted a law permitting the conversion of mutual insurance companies to stock form.

The accident department signed one of its largest accounts in 1970, with the American Medical Association.

R.L. Maclellan died in 1971, and Hugh Maclellan, another grandson of the company's first Maclellan, assumed the presidency.

Two subsidiaries were formed in 1974 to stimulate the company's flexibility: the Provident General Insurance Company, which sold automobile and homeowners' insurance; and the Provident National Assurance Company, which sold variable annuities.

In 1976 Forbes ranked Provident first in sales growth and in earnings per share among the top investor-owned life insurance companies.

In 1977 Hugh Maclellan left the presidency to chair the finance committee, and H. Carey Hanlin took his place.

By 1980 Provident ranked seventh among the nation's stockholder-owned life insurers for insurance in force.

In recognition of the encroaching threat to the company, executives in 1982 took measures to shift Union Mutual's focus away from market segments that were becoming dominated by the major national insurers.

1983: Goudchaux’s Life Insurance Company founded in Baton Rouge, La., to serve customers of Goudchaux’s/Maison Blanche department stores.

In addition, at the end of 1984 he formally began the process of converting the company from a mutual to a public firm, an effort that took nearly two years to come to fruition.

Then the 1986 Tax Reform Act, by redefining the nature of life insurance policies, restricted certain promising Provident tax-favored products, such as corporate-owned life insurance.

As the company celebrated its centennial in 1987, it also reached the trough in its down cycle, when declining earnings and the purchase of the group business of Transamerica Occidental further reduced company profits.

Meantime, in 1988, the presidency passed from Hanlin to Winston W. Walker.

1989: Unum becomes the first to offer group long term care coverage.

In March 1990, Unum acquired National Employers Life Assurance Holdings, which at the time was the United Kingdom's largest disability insurer.

1992: UNUM acquires Duncanson & Holt, Inc., a leading accident and health reinsurance underwriting company.

In November 1993, J. Harold Chandler became president and chief executive officer of Provident.

The company suffered serious losses from that segment during 1994, prompting executives to announce late in 1994 that UNUM would no longer market individual, non-cancelable disability products in the United States.

Unum began offering individual disability policies under the Unum brand once again in 1995.

1996: A new holding company called Provident Companies Inc. is formed.

Provident also increased its focus on individual disability and life policies with the 1997 acquisition of the Paul Revere Corporation, a Worcester, Massachusetts-based provider of individual disability insurance, from Textron for $1.2 billion.

Unum and Provident announced their intention to merge in November 1998.

Orr was named chairman and CEO of the new company, a position he was slated to hold until July 2001, and Chandler assumed the presidency.

Unum received negative attention in 2002, when California regulators fined Unum, and alleged that the company inappropriately denied long-term disability insurance claims.

UnumProvident acquired Sun Life Financial's United Kingdom-based group insurance business in 2003.

In 2004, Unum entered into a regulatory settlement agreement (RSA) with insurance regulators in over 40 states.

In 2007, UnumProvident was renamed Unum.

In 2008 Unum opened their IT centre of excellence in Carlow, Republic of Ireland.

2015: Unum completes the U.K. acquisition of National Dental Plan, expanding Unum UK into the dental market.