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AM Best Assigns Issue Credit Rating to Unum Group’s New Senior Unsecured Notes

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has assigned a Long-Term Issue Credit Rating (Long-Term IR) of “bbb+” (Good) to the recently issued $300 million of 5.250% senior unsecured notes due Dec. 15, 2035, issued by Unum Group (Unum) (headquartered in Chattanooga, TN) [NYSE: UNM]. The outlook assigned to this Credit Rating (rating) is stable.

The proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, as well as repayment of the $275 million aggregate principal amount of outstanding senior unsecured notes that matured on Nov. 5, 2025. The assignment of the Long-Term IR considers the rating profile of Unum’s principal insurance subsidiary units, as well as the parent company’s financial leverage, coverage and overall debt servicing profile, and the application of appropriate notching to reflect structural subordination of the holding company’s senior unsecured debt.

Unum’s financial leverage, as calculated by AM Best, was between 24% and 25% at year-end 2024 and will remain in that range following the recent debt offering. Earnings coverage of interest expenses has been strong in each of the past three years and measured over 12x for year-end 2024. AM Best expects that coverage will remain strong over the near term.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

Contacts

Paul Frost
Senior Financial Analyst
+1 908 882 1768
paul.frost@ambest.com

Wayne Kaminski
Associate Director
+1 908 882 1916
wayne.kaminski@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
al.slavin@ambest.com

AM Best

NYSE:UNM

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Contacts

Paul Frost
Senior Financial Analyst
+1 908 882 1768
paul.frost@ambest.com

Wayne Kaminski
Associate Director
+1 908 882 1916
wayne.kaminski@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
al.slavin@ambest.com

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