ATLANTA, July 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Assurant Specialty Property today announced plans to relocate certain hazard insurance servicing operations now performed at two California sites to its other service centers in Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina. The company said the consolidation would accommodate changes in the composition and location of its client base and better leverage its servicing assets. Assurant Specialty Property, a leading provider of creditor-placed homeowners insurance and related services, will continue to maintain a strong presence in Southern California with about 200 positions. However, the company's hazard insurance service centers in Santa Ana and Tustin, Calif., will be closed early next year, affecting 325 positions. John Frobose, president of Assurant Specialty Property's Lending Solutions business, said that the company's client base has shifted considerably in the three years since the centers were acquired from Safeco, Inc. "As our clients adapt to changes in the mortgage industry, it's important that we in turn adapt to our clients' needs. Our large, state-of-the-art centers in Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina are centrally located with the size, scale and technology necessary to grow with our clients and serve their customers efficiently." The consolidation should be seamless to both clients and their customers, the company said. California employees affected by the consolidation will have the opportunity to be considered for relocation. The company's two service centers in Duluth, Ga., will add about 150 new positions over the next five months to accommodate the work being moved to those sites. An additional 100 jobs will be divided between the Springfield, Ohio, and Florence, S.C., centers to service the accounts for which those centers will now have responsibility. Assurant Specialty Property is part of Assurant (NYSE:AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets. Its Lending Solutions business provides hazard insurance tracking and related outsourcing services for about two thirds of the trackable mortgage loans in the United States. About Assurant Specialty Property Assurant Specialty Property businesses are leading providers of creditor-placed homeowners insurance, direct-marketed products, 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, financial institutions, 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. http://www.assurantspecialtyproperty.com/ Assurant Specialty Property is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international markets. Assurant, a Fortune 500 company and part of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has over $23 billion in assets and $8 billion in annual revenue. http://www.assurant.com/ Media Contact: James A. Sykes, 770.763.1015, DATASOURCE: Assurant Specialty Property CONTACT: James A. Sykes, +1-770-763-1015, Web Site: http://www.assurantspecialtyproperty.com/

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