Assurant, Inc. Commemorates its 120th Anniversary by Celebrating Its Enduring Values

NEW YORK, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, today is celebrating its 120th anniversary by ringing The Closing Bell® at the New York Stock Exchange. The anniversary provides a noteworthy opportunity to remember the enduring values essential to helping customers mitigate risk.

Assurant traces its history to the founding of the LaCrosse Mutual Aid Association established in LaCrosse, Wisconsin in 1892, formed to provide consumers with disability insurance. Now known as Assurant, the company's specialty insurance offerings continue to evolve with businesses that now include Assurant Employee Benefits, Assurant Health, Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property.

"It is an honor to commemorate the unique history of Assurant by ringing the bell at the Exchange and heralding the values that are the foundation of our employees' achievements," said Robert Pollock, president and chief executive officer of Assurant, Inc. "Every day and in each of our businesses, employees put into action the values at the heart of our company -- using common decency, common sense and uncommon thinking to deliver uncommon results to our clients, their customers and our shareholders."

Assurant's enduring values are exemplified in the work of employees on behalf of customers and clients and the communities where we live and work. While there are many ways these values come to life, recent examples of these efforts include:

• Common Sense: Assurant Specialty Property field claims manager Keith Goss "simply did what needed to be done" when he assessed the damage to a home destroyed by a gas explosion. That he took this action on his day off at a site 200 miles away reflects the common sense value that ensures field claims are handled expeditiously for clients in their times of need.
• Common Decency: Bills are just one of the many concerns on the minds of customers when they file claims on their credit card protection insurance. Typically, they are trying to cope with life changing events such as a death in the family, unemployment or sickness. In an effort to ease their burden, Assurant Solutions developed a technology solution called MAX to improve the process by reducing the amount of paperwork required for claims verification, expediting claims review and paying claims more quickly.
• Uncommon Thinking: Looking at health insurance from the uninsured's point of view, Assurant Health realized that price alone would not drive consumers to purchase health coverage. Through extensive research and product concept development, Assurant Health introduced Assurant Health Access (SM), the first insurance plan designed specifically to provide affordable access to the health care system. As a result, nine out of 10 Assurant Health Access customers who now enjoy coverage previously were uninsured.
• Uncommon Results: Assurant Employee Benefits' nationally recognized Change Your World Challenge offers employees $100 and 90 days to develop and implement a project to benefit a non-profit organization of their choosing. Showing great determination and ingenuity, ten teams have taken up the challenge and stretched their seed money to make lasting contributions to local community organizations.

For more information about Assurant's enduring values and the stories behind these examples go to http://newsroom.assurant.com

About Assurant
Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and select worldwide markets. The four key businesses -- Assurant Solutions, Assurant Specialty Property, Assurant Health and Assurant Employee Benefits -- partner with clients who are leaders in their industries and build leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments. The Assurant business units provide debt protection administration; credit-related insurance; warranties and service contracts; pre-funded funeral insurance; lender-placed homeowners insurance; manufactured housing homeowners insurance; individual health and small employer group health insurance; group dental insurance; group disability insurance; and group life insurance.

Assurant, a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has approximately $27 billion in assets and $8 billion in annual revenue. Assurant has approximately 14,000 employees worldwide and is headquartered in New York's financial district. www.assurant.com.

SOURCE Assurant, Inc.