Independent company Colonial Life's history traces back to 1929 when company founder Edwin Averyt was working as a bond salesman and met with a former
University of Alabama classmate who was successful at selling individual accident insurance policies. Averyt later moved to
South Carolina to become the regional manager of a firm that sold savings bonds, United Securities Company of Kansas City,
Missouri. In 1937, he earned a $2,000 commission. Edwin Averyt served as company chief executive until 1970 when failing health forced his retirement. Colonial Life became a wholly owned subsidiary of Colonial Companies. Hall had served as company president since 1986.
Unum subsidiary Unum acquired Colonial Life in 1993 for $571 million. James Orr,
Unum's chief executive, assumed the position of Colonial Life chief executive with the merger. The company agreed to pay $5.5 million over 12 years for the name rights to
Colonial Life Arena. He replaced Jean Duke. In July 2014, Timothy G. Arnold became the company's president. He assumed the role of chief executive in early 2015. Through the acquisition of Starmount, Colonial Life became active with dental in 2016. In 2017, Colonial Life opened a new office in
Virginia, to serve the Virginia and
Washington, D.C. areas. The company has also expanded in
Georgia. ==Operations==