COLUMBIA, S.C. (February 13, 2004) — A new Colonial Supplemental Insurance short-term disability product encourages employees to return to work by paying partial benefits if they become totally disabled and can later return to work for less than 20 hours a week.

“This feature allows employees who’ve received total disability benefits for at least one month to ease back in to work and still receive a partial disability benefit equaling 50 percent of their total disability amount,” says Monica Francis, director of product marketing at Colonial. “Many disability plans don’t provide partial benefits. As a result, employees who could return to work have no incentive to do so because they’d only receive part-time pay and they’d lose their disability benefits.” Francis says not only is the partial disability benefit appealing to employees, but employers like it, too, because it provides an incentive for employees to come back to work sooner.

Here’s an illustration of how this feature works: An employee becomes totally disabled as a result of a covered accident or covered sickness. Colonial starts paying total disability benefits; however, after 45 days, his doctor says he can return to work for 17 hours a week. The employee would receive part-time wages but he’d be able to receive 50 percent of his total disability benefits for his partial disability.

Additional Feature: “Your Job” Total Disability Definition

Colonial’s new disability product defines total disability in terms of “your job” (or own occupation), not the inability to do any job. The “your job” definition of disability applies for the entire benefit period.

This new product is different from disability plans that have a “your job” definition only for the first year of a disability and then change to an “any job” definition for the second year of disability. “With these other plans, after the first year a disabled policyholder would no longer receive benefits if he or she could perform any other job,” says Francis. “But with Colonial’s new disability product, someone who’s disabled and unable to do her job could receive benefits for the entire benefit period. There’s no one-year limit to the use of the ‘your job’ definition.”

Colonial’s new disability product helps employees protect their incomes — their most valuable asset — by providing benefits employees can use as they see fit, such as for mortgage, rent, utility bills or other household and medical expenses. “There’s a definite need for disability coverage to help people protect their incomes,” says Francis. “In fact, the chances of someone becoming disabled are more likely than people realize.” According to the statistics of Injury Facts®, National Safety Council®, 2003 edition, the chances of someone becoming disabled and needing disability benefits are convincing:

• Within the next 10 minutes, almost 400 people will suffer a disability.
• About two-thirds of the disabling injuries suffered by workers in 2002 occurred off the job.
• More than 20 million disabling injuries were reported in 2002, with nearly four million of those being work-related.

Colonial’s new short-term disability product is sold through payroll deduction to employees at the worksite. It has been filed in all states and is approved in nearly 40 states. This new disability product can benefit both employers and employees. “Employers win because it provides an incentive for employees to return to work sooner,” Francis says. “Employees win because they have disability benefits that help provide income if they’re disabled and can’t work. And because the new disability product pays partial disability benefits, employees aren’t penalized if they need to slowly move back into their jobs full time.”

Colonial Supplemental Insurance is the marketing brand of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. Colonial is a market leader in benefits communication, enrollment and customer service while providing voluntary insurance to employees and their families at the worksite. A subsidiary of UnumProvident Corporation, Colonial is based in Columbia, S.C. and operates in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Colonial underwrites a broad line of insurance coverages, including accident, hospital confinement indemnity, disability, life, cancer and critical illness insurance policies. Similar products, if approved, are underwritten in New York by a Colonial affiliate, The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company. “Colonial Supplemental Insurance,” “for what happens next” and the logo, separately and in combination, are registered service marks of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company. All rights reserved.

For more information about Colonial’s products and services or opportunities with the company, contact Monica Francis at (803) 798-5555, ext. 8448  or visit www.coloniallife.com.