Unum unveils consumer campaign

Unum has unveiled its marketing strategy which will include consumer focused television adverts later this year.

The provider coincided the announcement, with research which revealed that workers fear the potential impact of long term sickness and highly value (IP).

It found that two thirds (64%) of workers thought IP was one of the most important benefits to them and 31% feared suffering a long-term illness, while one-quarter believed their employers would not pay them their full salary for time off due to sickness or injury.

A further 11% of respondents said they have already been off work due to illness for six months or more in the last year and one-quarter of this group say they did not receive any support from their employer.

These fears were triggered by almost half (46%) saying they were finding it harder to meet their outgoings this year compared to last year with 30% going overdrawn each month.

Just one in five 5 workers would survive for less than a month if their salary stopped and most people would have to rely on savings (39%) or their partner (29%) as financial protection support.

Speaking to COVER at the Association of Medical Insurance Intermediaries conference, Helene Gullen, commercial marketing manager of Unum, confirmed the provider's intentions and its ambitious hopes for market growth.

"We are launching a television advertising campaign to start later in the year," she said.

"In the USA the penetration of group IP is 70%. If we can get half of that over the next five to ten years we'd be doing well because that would be double digit growth every year.

"Typically companies are doing four times salary life insurance schemes and no GIP. Why not balance it with one to to times salary and an essential GIP with voluntary contributions to cover the gaps," she added.

Unum has already begun its marketing initiative with a supplement and website partnership with the Guardian which will continue.