AmerUs Group Co. Announces Pricing of the Remarketing of its 5.50% Senior Notes Initially Due 2008.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- AmerUs Group Co. (NYSE:AMH) announced today that it has priced the remarketing of $143,750,000 aggregate principal amount of its 5.50% Senior Notes initially due 2008 (CUSIP No. 03072M504) (the "Senior Notes") originally issued as components of its Income PRIDES (CUSIP No. 03072M405) (the "Income PRIDES"). As a result of the remarketing, the annual interest rate on the Senior Notes will be reset to 6.583% per annum, paid semi-annually, effective May 16, 2006, and the maturity date will be extended to May 16, 2011. The remarketed Senior Notes will be sold to investors at a price of 101.0276%. Proceeds from the remarketing will be used to purchase U.S. Treasury securities that will serve as substitute collateral for the Senior Note component of the Income PRIDES. Holders of the outstanding Income PRIDES will receive, on or about May 16, 2006, the remaining proceeds from the remarketing, after deduction of the remarketing fee and the purchase price of the portfolio of U.S. Treasury securities, in an amount equal to $0.063 per $25 principal amount of such Senior Notes. After the closing of the remarketing, the Senior Notes will no longer form a part of AmerUs Group Co.'s Income PRIDES. The remarketing is expected to close on May 16, 2006.

The remarketing of the Senior Notes is part of a shelf registration for corporate debt and other securities previously declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Senior Notes are not listed and we do not plan to apply to list the Senior Notes on any securities exchange or to include them in any automated quotation system. We will not receive any of the proceeds from this remarketing of the Senior Notes.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the remarketing in any state or other jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. The remarketing will only be made pursuant to the remarketing prospectus supplement, to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the accompanying prospectus supplement and the prospectus, which, when finalized, may be obtained from the remarketing agents, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman, Sachs & Co. For additional information regarding the remarketing of the Senior Notes, you may contact Citigroup Global Markets Inc. at [phone].

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 

This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to trends in our operations and financial results and our business and products, which include words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are made based upon management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements include, among others, the following possibilities: (a) general economic conditions and other factors, including prevailing interest rate levels and stock and bond market performance, which may affect (1) our ability to sell our products, (2) the market value of our investments and consequently protection product and accumulation product margins and (3) the lapse rate and profitability of policies; (b) the performance of our investment portfolios which may be affected by general economic conditions, the continued credit quality of the companies whose securities we invest in and the impact of other investment transactions; (c) customer response to new products, distribution channels and marketing initiatives and increasing competition in the sale of insurance and annuities and the recruitment of sales representatives from companies that may have greater financial resources, broader arrays of products, higher ratings and stronger financial performance may impair our ability to retain existing customers, attract new customers and maintain our profitability; (d) our ratings and those of our subsidiaries by independent rating organizations which we believe are particularly important to the sale of our products; (e) mortality, morbidity, and other factors which may affect the profitability of our insurance products; (f) our ability to develop and maintain effective risk management policies and procedures and to maintain adequate reserves for future policy benefits and claims; (g) litigation or regulatory investigations or examinations; (h) regulatory changes, interpretations, initiatives or pronouncements, including those relating to the regulation of insurance companies and the regulation and sales of their products and the programs in which they are used; (i) changes in the federal income tax and other federal laws, regulations, and interpretations, including federal regulatory measures that may significantly affect the insurance business including limitations on antitrust immunity, the applicability of securities laws to insurance products, minimum solvency requirements, and changes to the tax advantages offered by life insurance and annuity products or programs with which they are used; (j) the impact of changes in standards of accounting; (k) our ability to achieve anticipated levels of operational efficiencies and cost-saving initiatives and to meet cash requirements based upon projected liquidity sources; (l) our ability to integrate the business and operations of acquired entities; and (m) various other factors discussed in the section entitled "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2005.

There can be no assurance that other factors not currently anticipated by us will not materially and adversely affect our results of operations. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements made by us or on our behalf. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

About AmerUs Group

AmerUs Group Co. is located in Des Moines, Iowa, and is engaged through its subsidiaries in the business of marketing individual life insurance and annuity products in the United States. Its major subsidiaries include: AmerUs Life Insurance Company, American Investors Life Insurance Company, Inc., Bankers Life Insurance Company of New York and Indianapolis Life Insurance Company.