Americom Life Opens for Business; Northwest Sales Office Open for Business, Southwest Office Opening in June.

Business Editors

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2001

Americom Life and Annuity Insurance Company celebrated its official grand opening yesterday at its first regional sales office in Seattle, Washington.

Americom Life is a Kansas City area-based fixed and equity-indexed annuity and life insurance provider which will generate business by selling directly to independent agents. Americom Life has a license to do business in 44 states.

"Americom Life is the company our competitors would build if they could start from scratch," said Joe Sulzinger, national sales director of Americom Life, while at the Grand Opening. "Because we're new, we can use the web the way it was intended to be used for independent producers: to deliver marketing materials instantly, to check the status of cases they have in underwriting, and immediate delivery of policies via email when they are issued. We will even send the producer's commission using electronic funds transfer to their bank account the same day the policy is issued. It's a completely modern way of doing business. And we think the producers will appreciate our attentiveness to their needs."

The Seattle office is the first regional sales office to open, servicing Alaska, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. The Southwest office -- servicing Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah -- will open in June 2001. Four offices, which will cover 32 states, will be open by year-end, and the final office will open in the first quarter of 2002.

"In addition to our innovative use of technology, we're also focused on providing personal service," said Bruce Fisher, senior regional sales director for the Northwest office. "When you call one of our regional sales offices, you will never have to deal with an automated attendant. You get to talk to a live person on the phone -- every time."

Americom Life is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Old Mutual plc, an international financial services firm company based in London, with expanding operations in life assurance, asset management, banking and general insurance. Last year Old Mutual purchased reinsurer Unified Life Insurance Company of Kansas City. Unified has received regulatory approval for a name change to Americom Life and Annuity Insurance Company, which will sell and market its own insurance and annuities.

Old Mutual plc (www.oldmutual.com) has more than 3 million policyholders worldwide and $265 billion in assets under management. Old Mutual plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange, as well as on the Johannesburg, Namibian, Malawi and Zimbabwe stock exchanges. The company has been expanding into the United States in the last year, with purchases of United Asset Management in June 2000 and a proposed purchase of Fidelity & Guaranty Life of Baltimore, which is currently pending regulatory approval.