How we use cookies

Cookies are text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to your device when you visit a website. Cookies are then sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit, or to another website that recognises that cookie.

Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognise a user's device.

Cookies do lots of different jobs, like letting you navigate between pages efficiently, remembering your preferences, and generally improve the user experience. They can also help to ensure that adverts you see online are more relevant to you and your interests.

The cookies (and other similar technologies, such as web beacons, floodlight tags and pixel tracking) we use on our Unum sites have been categorised based on the four categories found in the ICC UK Cookie guide.

A list of all the cookies used on our sites, by category, is set out below:

1. Strictly Necessary
2. Performance
3. Functionality
4. Targeting

We've created this page to help you understand:

• Which categories of cookie we use and why and where we use them
• How you can delete cookies, if you want to remove them

The cookies we use do not collect personally identifiable information about you and confirmation is requested at least once every 12 months. The only exceptions are when you:

• sign up to receive updates from us (see the Functionality cookies section, below), or
• apply for a job vacancy (see the Strictly Necessary cookies section, below)

We will only use your personal data to process your request unless otherwise notified to you. And we will never sell your data to third parties. We also track IP addresses of businesses and organisations to help us understand how our website is used.

1) Strictly Necessary cookies

These cookies enable services you've specifically asked for. They are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the website.

Without these cookies services you have asked for, like shopping baskets or e-billing, cannot be provided.

We use Strictly Necessary cookies in two ways:

a) The careers section of our site: When you apply for a current vacancy, future opportunity or for our graduate programme, you will be sent to a third-party website which uses this type of cookie.
These cookies identify you as an individual and are necessary to process and track your application. For example, they allow you to search for the particular types of jobs you're interested in, rather than having to look through all our current vacancies.

b) UnumOnline - our online quotes system: UnumOnline uses these cookies to keep you logged in during your visit so you don't have to log in on every page you go to.

Based on the International Chamber of Commerce guide, no consent from users is required for this type of cookie.

2) Performance cookies

These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages.

By using our sites and services you agree we can place Performance cookies on your computer, mobile or handheld.

These cookies don't collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.

We use Performance cookies in three ways:

a) Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics cookies (utma, utmb, utmc and utmz) across all our sites and services. We use these cookies to give us information on how people use our sites, such as the number of visitors to our site/service, where visitors have come to the site/service from, and the pages they've visited.

b) YouTube videos:When we embed videos from our official YouTube channel using YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode. This mode may set cookies on your computer once you click on the YouTube video player, but YouTube will not store personally-identifiable cookie information for playbacks of embedded videos using the privacy-enhanced mode.

c) Website surveys: From time to time, we may invite visitors to our website to take an online survey about our online services. Participation is entirely optional and any information we collect is only used to improve the products and services we offer to our visitors. We do not collect any personal information.

3) Functionality cookies

These cookies allow the website to remember changes you have made to text size and fonts. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. These cookies cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

By using our sites and services you agree we can place Performance cookies on your computer, mobile or handheld.

We use Functionality cookies:

When you sign up to receive updates from us, including when you fill in a form to download a certain item, such as an ebook. The cookie is placed so that, if you choose to download further items from our site, we won't ask you to fill in the same details again. We have put a tick box on all our sign up pages to flag that, by filling in the form, a Functionality cookie will be placed on your browser.

4) Tracking cookies

These cookies are used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers. Quite often targeting or advertising cookies will be linked to site functionality provided by the other organisation.

We may, from time to time, work with companies and websites that use Tracking cookies to help make sure our adverts, promotions and marketing messages are shown to people who might be interested. These cookies will not collect personally identifiable information about you.

Unum does not use cookies to collect personally identifiable information about you, except for when you apply for a job vacancy.

However, if you want to restrict or block the cookies which are set by us, or any other site, you'll need to change your website browser settings to reject cookies.

For more information on cookies, what they're used for and how to delete them, visit the site http://www.aboutcookies.org/