Colonial Life

Public facts

Worksite voluntary supplemental

Unum-owned worksite voluntary carrier (Columbia, SC) for accident, disability, hospital indemnity, life, dental, cancer, and critical illness, with multi-channel enrollment and Gathr HR tech.

Visit coloniallife.com

Overview

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company is a Columbia, South Carolina worksite insurer (brand since 1939 in company materials) that operates as a stand-alone Unum business. Public pages emphasize voluntary, employee-paid benefits, 1-to-1 enrollment (in person, virtual, phone, online), benefits education, a policyholder portal, and public-sector expertise (vendor: 600,000+ public-sector employees in 40 states, 3,000 schools, 5,000 local governments). Product lists on Colonial materials include accident, disability, hospital confinement indemnity, life, dental, cancer, and critical illness. New York uses affiliate The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company when products are approved. Gathr is Colonial’s HR-administration technology for small business.

Why it matters Colonial is Unum’s worksite enrollment engine—useful when the case needs 1-to-1 voluntary education more than a Unum core LTD spec.

Target buyer: Employers—especially public sector and small/mid-market—and brokers who want a worksite enrollment-led voluntary package rather than Unum core group only.
Pricing model: Employee-paid voluntary premium via payroll deduction; employer cost described as none for the benefits themselves; No public rate card. Products vary by state and may be unavailable in some states. Hospital indemnity is supplemental, not major medical (Colonial product page).
Availability: National
Research: Last researched 2026-08-23; Public facts category

Key features

Voluntary accident, disability, hospital indemnity, life, dental, cancer, and critical illness
Enrollment in person, virtual, telephonic, and online self-service
1-to-1 benefits counseling and education assets
Colonial Life for Policyholders portal (view coverage, file claims, payment preferences)
Public-sector book (vendor counts above)
Gathr HR/benefits administration tool for small business

Integrations

Gathr platform
Colonial Life Connections enrollment interfaces with “most systems” (older broker PDF)
Harmony proprietary enrollment system (older broker PDF)
Unum Group affiliate relationship (not a shared shopping cart on coloniallife.com)

Overview

Colonial Life is the worksite/voluntary brand of Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, a Unum Group subsidiary, headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. Company brochures describe operations in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, with New York written by The Paul Revere Life Insurance Company when approved.

The homepage focuses on enrollment experience, education, the policyholder portal, public-sector depth, and Gathr—not on a single medical product. Popular benefits are framed as voluntary add-ons that do not add employer premium cost.

Key Capabilities

Product family (Colonial employer/broker lists): accident; cancer; critical illness; dental; disability; hospital confinement indemnity; life.
Multi-channel enrollment and year-round education (custom sites, digital booklets, postcards).
Policyholder dashboard for claims and preferences; plan-administrator billing/change tools.
Public-sector specialization with vendor headcounts.
Gathr for small-business HR tasks plus voluntary benefits.

Hospital indemnity (e.g., Group Medical Bridge form series GMB7000) pays specified amounts for hospital events and is not a substitute for essential health benefits.

Integrations & Ecosystem

Gathr; Harmony and Colonial Life Connections (described in older broker PDFs as no-cost or interface enrollment). Unum is the corporate parent; products are underwritten by Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company unless a state affiliate is required.

Pricing

Voluntary payroll deduction. No group PEPM list.

Notes & Limitations

Brochure stats (90,000 businesses, 3.7 million workers, 10,000 agents) appear on older “Built to last” PDFs and may be dated.
Recorded as National despite the 49-state + NY-affiliate structure; Colonial did not publish a skip-state list on the homepage.
Not major medical.

Sources

Tags: Colonial Life · voluntary · worksite · Unum · public sector