Insurer reports investment losses

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – UnumProvident Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter investment losses will come in between $55 million and $60 million, primarily on write-downs of fixed-income holdings in WorldCom Inc., Adelphia Communications Corp. and TeleGlobe Holdings.

UnumProvident, the nation’s largest disability insurer, said in a statement that the figure also includes losses from smaller investments, partially offset by gains from sales of securities.

The projected investment losses are narrower than the $77.3 million in losses reported for the first quarter. UnumProvident is one of the Portland area’s largest employers and used to be headquartered in Portland before moving to Chattanooga, Tenn. A year ago, the company had a second-quarter investment loss of $200,000.

UnumProvident was created by the 1999 merger of Chattanooga-based Provident Cos. and Portland-based Unum Corp. The company will release complete second-quarter results Aug. 6.