Cotton States Insurance Receives Notice of Public Hearing ATLANTA, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Cotton States Insurance Group has received notice from the Georgia Department of Insurance and from COUNTRY(R) Insurance & Financial Services that a public hearing will be held before Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance at 10:00 a.m. on October 28, 2004, at the Georgia Department of Insurance located at #2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive in Atlanta. The hearing is a required part of the Georgia Insurance Department's review of the proposed merger of Cotton States Life Insurance Company with a subsidiary of COUNTRY Life Insurance Company(R), and the affiliation of Cotton States Mutual Insurance Company and its subsidiary, Shield Insurance Company, with the property/casualty insurance group of COUNTRY. Under the Agreement and Plan of Merger, Cotton States Life Insurance shareholders will receive $20.25 cash for each share of outstanding common stock of Cotton States Life Insurance Company upon consummation of the merger. As a result, Cotton States Life Insurance Company will become a privately held company. Cotton States Life Insurance Company mailed proxy materials to its shareholders earlier this month in connection with the special shareholder meeting to be held on October 25, 2004, at the Company's home office. At this special meeting, shareholders of Cotton States Life Insurance Company will be asked to vote on the Agreement and Plan of Merger with COUNTRY Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary. Contingent upon receiving approvals from the shareholders and the regulatory authorities, it is anticipated that the transactions with COUNTRY will close in early January 2005. About COUNTRY COUNTRY(R) Insurance & Financial Services and its alliances serve about one million households and businesses throughout the United States. Founded in 1925, the group now has nearly 2,000 exclusive agents in 14 Midwestern and Western states who offer a full range of property/casualty, life and annuity products, as well as financial and estate planning services. Through alliances, affiliations and relationships with independent agents, their geographic reach spans across the United States. The COUNTRY property/casualty pool includes COUNTRY Mutual Insurance Company, Bloomington, Ill.; Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company, Middletown, Conn.; Holyoke Mutual Insurance Company in Salem, Salem, Mass.; and MSI Insurance Companies, Arden Hills, Minn. The COUNTRY insurance companies have nearly $1.5 billion of property/casualty premium, $530 million in life premium and are consistently rated A+ by A.M. Best. For additional information, visit http://www.countryfinancial.com/. About Cotton States Cotton States Insurance is a group of companies that has been providing quality insurance products to customers in the Southeast since 1941, with products for auto, home and life. The Group's product portfolio is complemented with specialty products that are marketed through its two brokerage operations. The Cotton States Insurance Group includes Cotton States Mutual Insurance Company, Shield Insurance Company and Cotton States Life Insurance Company, including its two subsidiaries Cotton States Marketing Resources, Inc. and CSI Brokerage Services, Inc. Cotton States Life Insurance Company is traded on The NASDAQ National Market under the symbol CSLI. For additional information, visit http://www.cottonstatesinsurance.com/. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are not strictly historical and that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements include, without limitation, any statements containing the words "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and other similar expressions, as well as statements regarding when the hearing will be held before Georgia's Commissioner of Insurance and the timing of the closing of the transactions with COUNTRY. The forward-looking statements set forth herein involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including the ability to obtain necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals and the timing thereof, the ability of the parties to satisfy the conditions to closing set forth in the transaction documents with COUNTRY, general economic conditions, changes in the economic and financial condition of Cotton States prior to closing, and legislation or regulatory environments that adversely affect the businesses. Cotton States and COUNTRY expressly disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: Cotton States Life Insurance Company CONTACT: Wendy M. Chamblee, Vice President of Corporate Communications, +1-770-391-8903, or Linde A. Miscio, Manager of Corporate Communications, +1-770-391-8898, both of Cotton States Life Insurance Company Web site: http://www.cottonstatesinsurance.com/ http://www.countryfinancial.com/ http://www.cottonstatesinsurance.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/208850.html

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