Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Fri, August 12, 2011
Thu, August 11, 2011 
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The principles behind simple, effective benefits education and enrollment drove the design of a new website with a shopping cart approach -- one of several tools Unum (NYSE:UNM) has developed to help simplify benefits decision-making.
"This approach makes it simple for employees to know what they need and why, and to understand what the products will cost and what they will cover"
aWe listen to consumers, ask them what works, what doesna™t and how we can most effectively support them in making benefits choices they feel good about,a said Stacy Gray, assistant vice president of Consumer Strategy for Unum. aOur new tools are the direct result of that work.a
The site at unumbenefits.com features a shopping cart that shows exactly which benefits an employee has selected, what each coverage costs and the total cost for all the products. For now, the site serves small to mid-size businesses with 500 or fewer employees, but it will eventually expand for use with larger employers.
Unumbenefits.com offers the guidance of a video coach, real-time quoting, and straightforward descriptions of Unum products and how they work. The products are presented in price segments, offering a clear view of the amount of coverage available at different premium levels.
aThe platform provides a flexible, consumer-friendly tool to give people the kind of online shopping experience they increasingly want and expect, whether they are enrolling themselves or with the assistance of a benefits counselor,a Gray said.
Research into how people make benefits decisions and the value of effective benefits education has helped to influence Unuma™s development of these and other tools for consumers.
The Unum guide a[ The Science of Choice: Guiding employees to wise benefits decisions ],a outlines the key principles of decision-making and identifies how to best present employee benefits information so employees make the most informed decisions.
And Unuma™s benefits education [ research ] clearly shows the critical role of benefits education in boosting employee engagement and satisfaction with their workplaces.
aDecisions about employee benefits can be perplexing; they are also among the most crucial decisions consumers make,a Gray said. aHelping individuals feel confident in their benefits decisions and comfortable with the process is a critical goal for us.a
Unum has also developed benefits booklets for small to mid-size employers that can include co-branding with the employer, conveniently packaged education, rates and forms information, and a front-page summary of when and where enrollment events will occur.
The booklets include descriptions of what employees will be able to purchase, clearly outline product prices and offer engaging stories that illustrate the ways customers may use different coverages. Booklets are available in English and Spanish.
aThis approach makes it simple for employees to know what they need and why, and to understand what the products will cost and what they will cover,a Gray said.
Unum is also providing templates to allow plan administrators to easily distribute benefits education to employees via email. The messages can include video, printable material and web page links to offer benefits education to employees in a variety of formats that accommodate different learning styles.
About Unum
Unum ([ www.unum.com ]) is one of the leading providers of employee benefits products and services in the United States and the United Kingdom. Through its subsidiaries, Unum Group paid approximately $6 billion in total benefits to customers in 2010.
