Unum Group (UNM) risk factors, FY2025 10-K

Other

1. 01We provide a broad array of disability, long-term care, group life, and voluntary insurance products that are affected by many factors, and changes in any of those factors may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity
2. 02Disability insurance may be affected by a number of social, economic, governmental, competitive, and other factors. Changes in societal attitudes, such as work ethic, motivation, or stability, can significantly affect the demand for and underwriting results from disability products56% rewritten
3. 03Voluntary Benefits ProductsNew
4. 04If our business does not perform well or as initially anticipated in our assumptions, we may be required to accelerate amortization or recognize an impairment loss on intangible assets or long-lived assets or to establish a valuation allowance against the deferred income tax asset
5. 05Long-lived assets, including assets such as real estate, right-of-use assets, and internal-use software, also may require impairment testing to determine whether changes in circumstances indicate that we may be unable to recover the carrying amount
6. 06Charges such as accelerated amortization, impairment losses, or the establishment of valuation allowances could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition
7. 07Sustained periods of low interest rates in the long-term investment market may adversely affect our reported net investment income and the discount rates used in pricing our insurance products and projecting our pension obligations, which may adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition
8. 08We are also required to perform annual statutory adequacy testing that considers multiple interest rate scenarios, to ensure our statutory reserves continue to meet statutory requirements, which could require us to increase our statutory reserves and/or contribute additional capital to our insurance subsidiaries
9. 09Unfavorable economic or market conditions may result in lower sales, lower premium growth and persistency, higher claim incidence, unfavorable mortality, longer claims duration, and higher expenses which may adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition

Market Timing and Liquidity Risk

1. 10Reinsurers may be unwilling or unable to meet their obligations under our reinsurance contracts, or reinsurance may not be available or affordable, which may adversely affect our results of operations or financial condition
2. 11Currency translation could materially impact our reported operating results
3. 12Pandemics and other public health issues can negatively impact certain aspects of our business and, depending on severity and duration, could have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources, and overall business operations99% rewritten
4. 13We maintain access to liquidity through a credit facility, arrangements with the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), and the ability to liquidate certain investments. These sources may be limited or inaccessible during market stress or covenant noncomplianceNew
5. 14There is no guarantee that processes we have developed in order to adapt to previous public health issues or pandemics would succeed in allowing us to adapt to any future pandemic or other public health issue, which may have materially different characteristics than previous pandemics or public health issuesNew
6. 15The failure of our business recovery and incident management processes to resume our business operations in the event of a natural catastrophe, cyber attack, or other event could adversely affect our profitability, results of operations, or financial condition
7. 16Our failure to develop digital capabilities or to effectively execute upgrades to or replacements of information technology systems could impair our ability to deliver on our growth initiatives or administer our business, which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition
8. 17Our use of artificial intelligence technology, as well as changes in artificial intelligence laws and regulations, could lead to regulatory noncompliance, operational risk, and competitive challenges
9. 18We may be unable to hire and retain qualified employees which may adversely affect our business, results of operations, or financial condition90% rewritten
10. 19The use and reliance on third-party vendors, including vendors providing web and cloud-based applications, may disrupt our business, and impact our ability to access data
11. 20Our risk management program may leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our business89% rewritten
12. 21Changes in privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence laws and regulations may result in cost increases as a result of system implementations, administrative processes, effects of potential noncompliance, and limitations or constraints of our business models
13. 22Competition may adversely affect our market share or profitability
14. 23A decrease in our financial strength or issuer credit ratings may adversely affect our competitive position, our ability to hedge our risks, and our cost of capital or ability to raise capital, which may adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, or liquidity44% rewritten
15. 24operations would be limited. If our internal sources of liquidity prove to be insufficient, we may be unable to successfully obtain additional financing and capital on favorable terms, or at all, which may adversely affect usNew
16. 25There are many events which may harm our reputation, including, but not limited to, those discussed in this Item 1A regarding regulatory investigations, legal proceedings, social issues, third-party vendors, external events, and cyber or other information security incidents
17. 26Litigation and contingencies are common in our businesses and may result in financial losses and/or harm to our reputation
18. 27Our actions to incorporate sustainability standards may not meet expectations of investors, regulators, customers, employees, and other stakeholders