UNUMPROVIDENT ANNOUNCES EXPIRATION AND SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
OF TENDER OFFER FOR $300 MILLION OF ITS OUTSTANDING SECURITIES

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., June 9, 2006 — UnumProvident Corporation (NYSE: UNM), announced today the expiration, as of 9:00 a.m. Eastern on June 9, 2006 (the "Expiration Date"), of its cash tender offer for up to $300,000,000 (the "Offer") aggregate principal and liquidation amount of its outstanding debt and capital securities listed in the table below (the "Securities").

According to information provided by Global Bondholder Services Corporation, the Depositary and Information Agent for the Offer, an aggregate amount of $780,845,000 of the Securities were validly tendered and not validly withdrawn on or before the Expiration Date. The full terms and conditions of the Offer are set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated May 11, 2006.

The table below identifies the liquidation and principal amount of each series of Securities validly tendered in the Offer and the aggregate amount that UnumProvident has accepted for purchase under the terms of the Offer. In accordance with the terms of the Offer, the amount of each series of Securities purchased in the Offer was determined based on the aggregate liquidation amount and principal amount of each series of Securities validly tendered, and not validly withdrawn, on or before the Expiration Date, in accordance with the priorities identified in the column "Acceptance Priority Level" in the table below and subject to the maximum tender offer amount and, in the case of the 7.405% Capital Securities due 2038, subject to a maximum liquidation amount to be purchased of $50,000,000.

The amounts of Securities to be purchased in the Offer will be determined based on the amount of each series of Securities validly tendered and not validly withdrawn prior to 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on June 9, 2006, unless extended (the "Expiration Date"), in accordance with the priorities identified in the Offer to Purchase, subject in the case of the 7.403% Capital Securities due 2038 to a maximum liquidation value purchased of $50,000,000.

Based on the aggregate amount of Securities tendered on or before the Expiration Date and the terms of the Offer, UnumProvident will purchase $50,000,000 of the tendered 7.405% Capital Securities due 2038 (representing approximately 91.05% of all tendered 7.405% Capital Securities due 2038), $250,000,000 of the tendered 7.625% Notes due 2011 (representing approximately 48.65% of all tendered 7.625% Notes due 2011), and none of the tendered 7.25% Notes due 2028, the 6.75% Notes due 2028, the 7.375% Notes due 2032, or the 7.00% Notes due 2018.

The consideration for the Securities accepted for purchase, as calculated by the Dealer Manager and announced on June 7, 2006, plus accrued and unpaid interest and distributions, as applicable, will be paid by UnumProvident on June 9, 2006. Notes that have been tendered but not accepted will be promptly returned to the tendering parties. UnumProvident estimates that the total cost of the Offer will decrease second quarter 2006 net income by approximately $11.6 million.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as the Dealer Manager and Global Bondholder Services Corporation served as the Depositary and Information Agent for the Offer.

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About UnumProvident
UnumProvident (UNM) is the largest provider of group and individual disability income protection insurance in the United States and United Kingdom. Through its subsidiaries, UnumProvident Corporation insures more than 21 million people and paid $6 billion in total benefits to customers in 2005. With primary offices in Chattanooga, Tenn., and Portland, Maine, the company employs approximately 12,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.unumprovident.com.

Safe Harbor Statement
A "safe harbor" is provided for "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include such general matters as general economic or business conditions; events or consequences relating to terrorism and acts of war; competitive factors, including pricing pressures; legislative, regulatory, or tax changes; and the interest rate environment. More specifically, they include fluctuations in insurance reserve liabilities, projected new sales and renewals, persistency rates, incidence and recovery rates, pricing and underwriting projections and experience, retained risks in reinsurance operations, availability and cost of reinsurance, level and results of litigation, rating agency actions, regulatory actions and investigations, negative media attention, the level of pension benefit costs and funding, investment results, including credit deterioration of investments, and effectiveness of product and customer support. For further information of risks and uncertainties that could affect actual results, see the sections entitled "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in UnumProvident's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005. The forward-looking statements are being made as of the date of this press release and UnumProvident expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statement contained herein.