NEW YORK, July 2, 2007—Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance and insurance-related products and services, announced today that its exclusive preneed distribution agreement with Service Corporation International® ("SCI") (NYSE: SCI) has been extended three years through Sept. 30, 2013. In addition, Assurant purchased Mayflower National Life Insurance Company ("Mayflower") from SCI for $67.5 million with available cash.
This agreement allows Assurant to distribute its preneed insurance products and services throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico as the exclusive provider for SCI-owned funeral homes.
Assurant's acquisition of Mayflower was completed on July 1, 2007, following regulatory approval. The transaction will add approximately $52 million to Assurant's annual net earned premiums.
"The extension of this exclusive distribution partnership with SCI, combined with the Mayflower acquisition, is consistent with Assurant's strategy of aligning itself with market leaders and illustrates our focus on long-term profitable growth in our key targeted growth areas," said Robert B. Pollock, Assurant's president and chief executive officer. "By leveraging our core capabilities, we expect new business written to generate returns consistent with the 14-16 percent range we have targeted for our Assurant Solutions segment."
Christopher Reznyk, senior vice president and preneed business leader, Assurant Solutions, said, "The additional business scale that we gain through Mayflower will allow us to service funeral home customers with greater efficiency. Our target market, age 65 and over, is projected to double over the next five years. This acquisition and distribution agreement extension positions us to implement programs that we have used successfully with other Solutions businesses and to more fully take advantage of the growing market for financially-safe preneed funding."
About Preneed Life Insurance
Preneed life insurance allows individuals to prepay for a funeral in a single payment or in multiple payments over a fixed number of years. The insurance policy proceeds are used to address funeral costs at death.
About Assurant Solutions and Assurant, Inc.
Assurant Solutions businesses develop, underwrite, market and administer specialty insurance, extended service contracts and other risk management solutions through collaborative relationships with leading financial institutions, retailers, automobile dealers, funeral homes, utilities and other entities. With operations in 20 locations, including executive offices in Atlanta, Ga., Assurant Solutions serves clients and their customers in 11 countries throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe. www.assurantsolutions.com
Assurant Solutions is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets. Its four key businesses—Assurant Employee Benefits, Assurant Health, Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property—have partnered with clients who are leaders in their industries and have built leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments worldwide.
Assurant, a Fortune 500 company, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has more than $20 billion in assets and $7 billion in annual revenue. The Assurant Web site is www.assurant.com.
About Service Corporation International
Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI), headquartered in Houston, Texas, is North America's leading provider of funeral and cemetery services and products. At March 31, 2007, SCI owned and operated more than 1,500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries (of which over 230 are combination locations) in 45 states, eight Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. SCI acquired Mayflower on Nov. 28, 2006 as part of its acquisition of Alderwoods Group, Inc. SCI markets the Dignity Memorial® brand which offers assurance of quality, value, caring service, and exceptional customer satisfaction. For more information about Service Corporation International, please visit www.sci-corp.com. For more information about Dignity Memorial, please visit www.DignityMemorial.com.
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Melissa Kivett
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John Egan
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Investor Relations
Phone: 212-859-7197
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