Tim Knott Named Vice President - Insurance Operations KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Kansas City-based Assurant Employee Benefits adds a ninth member to its senior leadership team with the hiring of Tim Knott as Vice President - Insurance Operations, effective July 21. With more than 24 years of insurance experience, Knott will lead the insurance carrier's Life and Disability teams, as well as its subsidiary, Social Security Disability Consultants. He will report directly to John Roberts, Assurant Employee Benefits' interim president and CEO. Knott's new position with Assurant Employee Benefits is a return to the company and Kansas City. He worked for the company for 13 years in various management roles. He was appointed actuary in 1995 and was responsible for the profitability, pricing, valuation and financial reporting of life, disability and dental products. "My family and I are excited to be returning to Kansas City," said Knott. "I'm looking forward to working with some old friends and establishing new relationships." Most recently, Knott was the Vice President of Group Operations at Principal Financial Group located in Des Moines. There he was responsible for the product management, underwriting, and administration of a $1.4 million block of specialty benefits, and oversaw the development and implementation of several key initiatives, including long-term disability and dental product rollouts. "I am excited about what his level of expertise will do for our business," said John Roberts, interim president and CEO. Knott is a graduate of the University of Central Missouri with a degree in Mathematics. He is a native of Carrollton, Mo., and he will reside in Lee's Summit with his wife, Laura and their children Kara, Jake, and Luke. About Assurant Employee Benefits Assurant Employee Benefits specializes in quality employee benefits and services, including long-term and short-term disability, life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, dental coverage, and disability reinsurance management services. Assurant Employee Benefits also offers voluntary (employee-paid) disability, life, and dental plans. Products and services marketed by Assurant Employee Benefits are underwritten or provided by Union Security Insurance Company or an affiliated prepaid dental company. In New York, group insurance products and services are marketed by Assurant Employee Benefits and underwritten by Union Security Life Insurance Company of New York, which is licensed in New York and has its principal place of business in Syracuse, New York. Plans contain limitations and exclusions. Underwriting flexibility allows Assurant Employee Benefits to market tailor- made benefit plans for groups of most any size. Assurant Employee Benefits is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Assurant Employee Benefits 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 Solutions; Assurant Specialty Property; Assurant Health; and Assurant Employee Benefits -- 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 and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. http://www.assurant.com/. DATASOURCE: Assurant Employee Benefits CONTACT: Angela Skinner, manager, External Communications of Assurant Employee Benefits, +1-816-474-2886, +1-816-442-9588, Web site: http://www.assurant.com/

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