Unum Group: 10-K Risk Factor Changes

Voluntary benefits products sold in the workplace may be affected by the characteristics of the employees insured, the level of employee participation and the amount of insurance the employees elect, our risk selection process, and our ability to retain employer groups with favorable risk characteristics. A portion of our voluntary life insurance products include interest sensitive forms of insurance which contain a guaranteed minimum interest crediting rate. It is possible that our investment returns could be lower than the guaranteed crediting rate. While a significant portion of our accident and health contracts are optionally renewable, some are guaranteed renewable and can be repriced to reflect adverse experience, but rate changes cannot be implemented as quickly as for group disability and group life products.

Voluntary products sold in the workplace may be affected by the characteristics of the employees insured, the level of employee participation and the amount of insurance the employees elect, our risk selection process, and our ability to retain employer groups with favorable risk characteristics. A portion of our voluntary life insurance products include interest sensitive forms of insurance which contain a guaranteed minimum interest crediting rate. It is possible that our investment returns could be lower than the guaranteed crediting rate. While a significant portion of our non-life contracts are optionally renewable, some are guaranteed renewable and can be repriced to reflect adverse experience, but rate changes cannot be implemented as quickly as for group disability and group life products.

Our business is exposed to risks from major public health issues, such as pandemics or disease outbreaks. In the event of a pandemic, disease outbreak, or other public health issue, our revenues, benefits, or expenses may be negatively impacted, which also may have an adverse effect on our profitability or growth plans. Such an event may also disrupt customer behavior and lead to a reduction in sales and decreased premium collection. Further, such an event may result in the impairment of certain assets, including premiums receivable, goodwill, VOBA and other intangibles, property and equipment, right-of-use assets, and deferred tax assets. Public health issues, such as pandemics or disease outbreaks, may also impair borrowers’ ability to meet obligations on debt securities or mortgage loans we hold, which may also result in lower net investment income and increased credit losses. Commercial real estate valuations may also decline, affecting expected loss estimates. Market volatility or dislocations may also hinder our ability to respond prudently and may impact financial reporting assumptions. We 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 noncompliance. From an operational perspective, our employees, sales associates, brokers, and distribution partners, as well as the workforces of our vendors, service providers, and counterparties, may be adversely affected by a pandemic or other public health issue, including government-mandated shutdowns, requests or orders for employees to work remotely, and other social distancing measures. These measures could result in an adverse impact on our ability to conduct our business, including our ability to sell our policies and our ability to adjudicate and pay claims in a timely manner. Additionally, a remote or hybrid work environment may expose us to various additional risks such as elevated cybersecurity vulnerability resulting from the wide-scale remote usage of our company networks and related risks to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. There 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 issues. To the extent pandemics or other public health issues adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources, and overall business operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks disclosed herein in this Item 1A "Risk Factors". 26 26 26 Table of Contents Table of Contents

If economic conditions worsen as a result of a pandemic or other public health issue, that may adversely affect the financial condition of current or potential customers, which may result in lower sales or other negative impacts to customer purchasing patterns. If we experience unfavorable developments related to our revenues, benefits, or expenses, we may correspondingly experience adverse impacts to our overall future profitability and growth, which may alter the timing and magnitude of our plans for overall business growth. In addition, these unfavorable developments may result in the impairment or write-off of certain assets such as premiums receivable, goodwill, property and equipment, VOBA, and right-of-use assets, or the establishment of a valuation allowance regarding the realization of our deferred tax assets. If economic conditions worsen as a result of a pandemic or other public health issue, that may also result in the inability for companies to make interest and principal payments on their debt securities or mortgage loans that we hold for investment purposes. Accordingly, although we maintain a disciplined approach regarding our overall investment strategy, we may still incur significant losses that can result in a decline in net investment income and/or material increases in credit losses on our investment portfolio. With respect to commercial real estate, there could be potential impacts to estimates of expected losses resulting from lower underlying values, reflecting current market conditions at that time. Although we have access to significant amounts of liquidity, which include a credit facility, Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) arrangements, and the ability to liquidate certain investments, it may be insufficient or even inaccessible if we are not in compliance with required covenants under our borrowing arrangements or if the associated lenders are unable to provide funds. In addition, if investment markets become illiquid or severely impaired, we may be unable to liquidate our investments in a timely and advantageous manner. From an operational perspective, our employees, sales associates, brokers, and distribution partners, as well as the workforces of our vendors, service providers, and counterparties, may be adversely affected by a pandemic or other public health issue, including government-mandated shutdowns, requests or orders for employees to work remotely, and other social distancing measures. These measures could result in an adverse impact on our ability to conduct our business, including our ability to sell our policies and our ability to adjudicate and pay claims in a timely manner. Additionally, our hybrid work environment may expose us to various additional risks such as elevated cybersecurity vulnerability resulting from the wide-scale remote usage of our company networks and related risks to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting. There is no guarantee that processes we have developed in order to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic would succeed in allowing us to adapt to any future pandemic or other public health issue, which may have materially different characteristics than the COVID-19 pandemic. 26 26 26 Table of Contents Table of Contents To the extent pandemics or other public health issues adversely affect our business, financial position, results of operations, liquidity and capital resources, and overall business operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks disclosed herein in this Item 1A "Risk Factors". See "Executive Summary", "Segment Operating Results", and "Liquidity and Capital Resources" included herein in Part 2, Item 7 under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" for additional discussion.

The talent and contributions of our employees are essential to achieving our business objectives. While certain specialized roles may experience tighter labor-market conditions, the overall environment has moderated, and we continue to maintain a strong ability to attract, hire, and retain qualified talent. Although challenges in filling key roles may occur from time to time, we view these as manageable operational considerations. Through proactive workforce planning and investment in employee development, we work to minimize potential impacts on execution and ensure continuity in the capabilities needed to support 28 28 28 Table of Contents Table of Contents our strategy. However, any prolonged stress on our ability to retain or recruit employees may result in increased labor costs or could affect our ability to conduct and manage our business.

The talent and contributions of our employees are critical to meeting our business needs. Our future success depends on our ability to hire and retain qualified personnel. In recent periods we have experienced increased competition for qualified talent and higher turnover compared to our historical experience, as many employees seek higher wages, new careers, or choose to exit the workforce entirely. The greater opportunities for fully remote or hybrid working arrangements have contributed to this trend, as many employees are no longer limited to employers located in their local area. We have taken steps to address this challenge, including updating compensation structures, allowing for more hybrid or remote working arrangements, and taking advantage of opportunities to recruit highly skilled employees from other employers. However, any prolonged stress on our ability to retain or recruit employees may result in increased labor costs and could adversely affect our ability to conduct and manage our business.