Unum earns high marks for customer satisfaction

Unum’s commitment to customer service helped the company achieve strong results in overall claims handling for short term and long term disability claims, according to new industry research. Results reveal that approximately 88 percent of short term disability customers and 91 percent of long term disability customers surveyed are “very satisfied” or “satisfied” with the overall handling of their Unum claim.

Every two years, Unum participates in research conducted by Gen Re, a leader in reinsurance, consulting and research. The research measures satisfaction levels for the short term disability and long term disability claim experiences. We use the results to refine and enhance our Benefits Center procedures and services.

“We’ve promised to provide exceptional customer service to those who turn to us for financial support when they’re hurt or sick,” said Diane Garofalo, senior vice president of the Benefits Center. “These results are verification that our claims employees are dedicated to that commitment, which is great news for our customers.”

Customers gave Unum significantly higher ratings than the industry average for 20 out of 26 measures for its long term disability claims process, including:

• Overall handling of long term disability claim
• Timeliness of claim decision
• Timeliness of receiving first payment
• Ease of our claims process and the Unum’s prompt and professional handling of the claim

For short term disability, Unum was in line with the industry average in key performance categories, including:

• Clear explanation of the process
• Ease of telephonic filing
• Courteous and respectful contact when customers call Unum

Diane also touted the findings of a recent independent study on Unum’s performance in managing the individual disability claim experience. The results reveal some of the highest satisfaction scores in the history of this research program, which was first conducted in 2005.

“While there’s always room for improvement, these are great results,” Diane said. “Our organization should be extremely proud of the way our benefit employees represent our brand.”

For 35 consecutive years, Unum has been the leader in the group disability market in the United States. In 2011, Unum received more than 367,000 new disability claims and paid $5.4 billion in financial protection benefits.