Unum headquarters in downtown Chattanooga.Unum Corp., CEO Tom Watjen said Monday he expects more consolidation in the insurance industry and hinted that the Chattanooga-based disability insurer is poised to buy other businesses.
Unum broke off talks about a possible sale to Canada's Sun Life Financial earlier this year. Watjen declined to discuss any possible deals during an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box. "I do think this industry has to go through some consolidation," he said.
Watjen said Unum "is in a unique position because we have a very unique franchise in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom and we have a lot of capital to really do some things, and we see some opportunities to do some of our own acquisitions." Watjen said the company also has money for dividend increases or stock buyback plans.