Staff Report

COLUMBIA -- One of the employee benefits industry's biggest hitters has a new name and a new look. Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company launched a new brand, logo and tagline designed to better communicate who the company is and what it does.

The Columbia-based company announced the new brand name "Colonial Life" along with the tagline "Making benefits count" on Thursday to better reflect the company's strengths in one-to-one benefit communications, enrollment services and personal insurance.

"Our new brand says a lot more about what makes us stand out from the competition," explains Tom Gilligan, senior vice president of marketing and branding. "Colonial Life still offers valuable, affordable protection for workers and their families through insurance benefits like life, disability, accident, hospital confinement indemnity and limited benefit medical plan coverage. But the personal, straightforward approach of our benefits education and enrollment services goes beyond that to help increase employee satisfaction and enhance the value of an employer's benefits package. We help make benefits count for employers and employees alike."

The new logo includes the word "Colonial" in a strong, traditional blue and the word "Life" in a fresh, vibrant green. The company said the "Making benefits count" tagline emphasizes Colonial Life's commitment to helping workers understand and appreciate the benefits available to them through the workplace -- whether provided by Colonial Life or another company -- and helping employers maximize the value of their investment in their workers.

Colonial Life is the nation's second largest provider of voluntary benefits at the workplace, based on annual sales.

The repositioned brand is the culmination of a year-long project involving research with employees, employers and insurance salespeople. It replaces the previous Colonial Supplemental Insurance brand name.

While the brand is changing, the direction of the company is not, Gilligan says. "We'll continue to do what we do best: provide benefit communications and enrollment services along with valuable insurance products and excellent customer service. Colonial Life's goal is to help businesses build a more loyal and satisfied work force -- and ultimately, a stronger business."

Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company provides insurance benefits for employees and their families through their workplace. Colonial Life offers disability, life and supplemental accident and health insurance policies in 49 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.