Assist America and UnumProvident Partner in Offering International Security Services

Business Wire, Oct 22, 2001

Business Editors

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. & PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 22, 2001

UnumProvident Adds SecurAssist(TM) to Insurance Plans to Help

Employers Respond to Threats

While the global economy provides businesses with many opportunities, it also exposes them to increased risks.

Income protection leader(a) UnumProvident Corporation (NYSE:UNM) and Assist America, Inc., the nation's largest provider of global emergency services to travelers through employee benefit plans, have joined together to offer a solution. Assist America's SecurAssist(TM) International Security Services program is designed to help employers respond to threats against their employees, products or corporate assets.

SecurAssist will be an embedded component of the assist america(R) program available on UnumProvident's Basic Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) and Group Travel Accident insurance plans. Services are scalable and can meet the needs of all sizes of customers, from a 100-person technology consulting firm to the largest Fortune 500 company.

"SecurAssist is a new service for a new business reality," explained Mary Milling, UnumProvident vice president, Product Development and Marketing. "It is a cost-effective way for employers to prepare their organization to respond quickly to security threats."

"Few business travelers have knowledge of or access to qualified physicians and medical facilities at their destinations - that's where Assist America can help," added Milling. "And few employers have the resources at hand to deal with a security emergency. SecurAssist is the solution in such situations."

Through SecurAssist, employers will have direct access to an elite team of security, crisis, and risk management professionals. All services are fully integrated with Assist America's worldwide operational capabilities.

SecurAssist membership includes:

-- Immediate access to an international security advisor -- 24/7/365

-- Password-protected access to the SecurAssist website

-- Country profiles for traveling employees

-- Travel and security advisories

-- AssistAlert(TM) international security issues bulletin

-- Access to a full range of international strategic and tactical security
services

SecurAssist is comprised of a consortium of companies under exclusive contract to Assist America and includes former senior national intelligence, U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement officers. This elite team of experienced security, crisis and risk management professionals instinctively understands and appreciates the needs and concerns of American travelers and companies. A full spectrum of services can be customized for members on a fee basis, including awareness briefings, contingency planning, crisis management, disaster recovery planning, international investigations and due diligence, and kidnap resolution.

"The synergies between Assist America and UnumProvident have been at the core of a valued partnership that spans more than a decade," commented George W. Howard III, President of Assist America. "We developed the SecurAssist product with the unique needs of their policyholders in mind. We share UnumProvident's cares and concerns for the welfare of our mutual clients and, in this time of worldwide crisis, we are dedicated to providing them with the highest possible quality of assistance."

In the wake of the events of September 11, both companies have demonstrated their market leadership and the value they place on customer relationships. UnumProvident quickly established a dedicated 24-hour customer service hotline and a streamlined claims process. Assist America provided services to non-covered relatives of UnumProvident clients and to covered individuals who were not in travel status, taking over 700 calls (more than 50% of their total volume received) from employees of UnumProvident customers during the week following the attack.

"It was a comfort for our customers to know that in this most uncertain circumstance, Assist America was there to help," said Milling.

About UnumProvident Corporation

The subsidiaries of UnumProvident Corporation (NYSE: UNM) offer a comprehensive, integrated portfolio of products and services backed by industry-leading return-to-work resources and disability expertise. UnumProvident is the leader(a) in income protection, providing insurance and services to individuals, both directly and through their employers. UnumProvident has more than 100 years of experience in creating innovative solutions that protect the rewards of work: paychecks, assets and lifestyles. UnumProvident was named one of Fortune's top ten most admired insurance companies.(b) UnumProvident Corporation has operations in the United States, Canada, the U.K., Japan, and elsewhere around the world. For more information, visit our website: www.unumprovident.com.

(a) UnumProvident represents multiple insuring subsidiaries of UnumProvident Corporation and includes the No. 1 group and individual insurance carriers in the United States and Canada, according to Employee Benefit Plan Review, May 2001, and LIMRA, May 2001.