AIZ Assurant Inc

ATLANTA and INDIANAPOLIS, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Assurant Specialty Property, a leading provider of creditor-placed homeowners insurance and outsourcing services to the U.S. mortgage industry, announced today that it will close its recently acquired service center in Indianapolis, Ind., effective Sept. 30, 2006. Assurant Specialty Property is part of Assurant, Inc. (NYSE:AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services. The Indianapolis center was acquired on May 1, 2006 as part of Assurant's purchase of Specialty Property competitor Safeco Financial Institution Solutions, Inc. (Safeco FIS). John B. Owen, president and chief executive officer of Assurant Specialty Property, said that the Safeco FIS center in Indianapolis currently is part of a shared Safeco Insurance facility at 500 N. Meridian St. "We determined that it will be more efficient and cost-effective to relocate these operations to other Assurant and former Safeco FIS service centers in California and South Carolina, where we have the capacity to grow our operations," he said. "The Safeco FIS team in Indianapolis has done an outstanding job for their clients," Owen said. "This decision does not in any way reflect adversely on their performance." The closing will result in the transfer of approximately 150 jobs to other company service centers. Affected employees have been offered the opportunity to transfer to other Assurant Specialty Property sites and affiliated Assurant businesses in the U.S. Assurant will provide severance pay, a "stay" bonus, career counseling and other job search assistance to employees who remain with the company until the transition is complete. About Assurant Specialty Property Assurant Specialty Property companies are leading providers of creditor- placed homeowners insurance, collateral protection programs and related outsourcing services. They develop, underwrite, market and administer specialty property and personal lines of insurance through collaborative relationships with leading home mortgage companies, manufactured home builders and dealers, auto finance companies, property management companies and managing general agents. Assurant Specialty Property serves clients and their customers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Assurant Specialty Property is aligned with leaders in every market it serves. It has strong, long-term relationships with six of the nation's ten largest mortgage lenders and servicers (based on servicing volume) and four of the seven largest manufactured housing builders (based on number of homes built). Assurant Specialty Property is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other markets. Assurant is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ and has over $20 billion in assets and $7 billion in annual revenue. http://www.assurant.com/ Media Contact: James A. Sykes, Assurant Specialty Property, 770.763.1015, DATASOURCE: Assurant Specialty Property CONTACT: James A. Sykes of Assurant Specialty Property, +1-770-763-1015, or Web site: http://www.assurant.com/

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