Improvement in mortality rates is likely to have favored Unum US Group Life and AD&D business. Continued higher persistency, higher sales and favorable incidence in all the product lines and management's focus on moving on to a mix of businesses with higher growth and stable margins are likely have favored performance at Colonial Life. (Read more : Here's What to Expect From Unum Group Q3 Earnings) The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNM's third-quarter earnings per share of $1.40 indicates a 35.9% increase from the year-ago quarter reported figure.