A.M. Best Affirms Ratings of The Ameritas Acacia Companies.

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) for the core subsidiaries of The Ameritas Acacia Companies (Ameritas Acacia): Ameritas Life Insurance Corp (Ameritas Life) (Lincoln, NE), its New York subsidiary, First Ameritas Life Insurance Corp of New York (Suffern, NY) and Acacia Life Insurance Company (Bethesda, MD). Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) of Ameritas Variable Life Insurance Company (AVLIC) (Lincoln, NE), an existing joint venture between Ameritas Acacia and AmerUs Group Co. (Des Moines, IA), which markets variable products. The outlook for all ratings is stable.

This action follows today's announcement that Ameritas Acacia will merge with The Union Central Life Insurance Company (Union Central) (Cincinnati, OH) at the mutual holding company level. Following the reorganization of Union Central to a mutual holding company structure, the companies plan to complete the consolidation by year-end 2005. The transaction is subject to member and policyholder approval as well as regulatory approval by the Departments of Insurance in Nebraska and Ohio. It is expected that the group's top tier holding company, Ameritas Acacia Mutual Holding Company, will change its name to UNIFI Mutual Holding Company (UNIFI). On a combined basis, UNIFI will have total assets under management in excess of $25 billion, $1.7 billion in GAAP equity and will have nearly doubled the scale of its insurance operations from approximately $8 billion to $15 billion in assets.

A.M. Best expects the combination to strengthen Ameritas Acacia's business profile by significantly increasing the scale of its individual life and annuity operations, enhancing its product and distribution capabilities and diversifying its earnings sources. More specifically, the proposed merger will provide critical mass to Ameritas Acacia's individual business, strengthen its overall competitive market position and complement its strong franchise within its core group dental, vision, mutual funds and banking business. A.M. Best also notes that the transaction is expected to provide a broader balance between accumulation and protection product earnings by expanding Ameritas Acacia's product portfolio to include fixed products and individual disability offerings. A.M. Best views the strategic potential of the transaction favorably for Ameritas Acacia as this transaction will allow it to utilize some of its excess capital to enhance the business profile of its individual and retirement plan businesses.

These strengths are tempered by the challenge to successfully execute the merger transaction and effectively integrate both systems and cultures of the two organizations. In addition, UNIFI must retain its distribution and minimize policyholder lapses to position the organization for earnings growth. Despite the potential realization of meaningful cost savings, A.M. Best does not expect the group's pro forma operating returns to improve significantly in the near to medium term. A.M. Best believes UNIFI will maintain very strong levels of absolute and risk-adjusted capital at the operating subsidiaries and extremely low financial leverage; however, the combined entity will continue to be challenged to leverage its capital in such a manner that substantially improves operating performance.

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A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com.