UnumProvident appoints new HR director

The UK''s leading disability insurer, UnumProvident, has appointed Andy Cross to the role of Director of Human Resources.

In his new position, Andy and the Human Resources team have a significant role to play as we continue to pursue challenging goals. Our ongoing commitment to first class customer service means we must shape our organisation through excellent recruitment, reward and retention, employee relations and development practices. Professional, motivated staff combined with bold and visionary leadership are central to our success. Fast growing UnumProvident has 800 staff at its major centres in Dorking, Basingstoke and Bristol together with regional offices across the UK.
Previous to this role, Andy held the position of Training and Development Manager for UnumProvident with special focus on leadership development, performance management and the implementation of FSA Training and Competence guidelines.

He has also worked in senior management roles for Virgin Atlantic and has previous industry experience with Friends Provident.

Commenting on the new appointment, Joanne Hindle, Corporate Services Director for UnumProvident, said: With his previous experience at UnumProvident and other major corporations, Andy brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role. At UnumProvident, we believe the strength of our business lies in the quality and commitment of our people and, as HR Director, Andy will play a key part in maintaining these high standards.

Andy Cross said: In such a rapidly changing industry, we need to work with our people to continually find a better way to deliver a truly professional service to our customers. It''s very exciting to be part of a company which continues to grow and improve in many ways and I believe that the Human Resources team has a key role to play in our future success.

About UnumProvident
UnumProvident is the UK''s leading provider of group income protection insurance, with over 30 years of experience and 34%* of the group market. Our critical illness and life insurance products enable our customers to purchase complementary protection that together make a comprehensive protection package.

Our income protection customers benefit from our expertise in the specialist areas of disability, rehabilitation and return-to-work. We enable individuals to protect their incomes, ensuring their financial security if they are unable to work because of illness or injury. For employers, we safeguard one of their most valuable resources by helping employees return to work following long-term absence.

At the end of 2002, UnumProvident protected over 900,000 lives through more than 10,000 schemes. During 2002 we paid benefits of over 133 million - of which more than 105 million were in income protection.

Our US parent company, UnumProvident Corporation, traces its history back to 1848 and is today the market leader of group and individual income protection insurance in the United States. Premium income for UnumProvident Corporation and its subsidiaries exceeded $7.4 billion in the year ended 31 December 2002. Total assets were $45.3 billion at 31 December 2002.