Assurant Health Announces Enhancements to Health Savings Accounts.

MILWAUKEE -- Assurant Health, a consumer choice health care leader and provider of the country's first Health Savings Account (HSA), today announces important new enhancements to their Individual and Small Group HSA product offering. Now, Assurant Health HSA owners will be able to manage account transactions with an integrated, secure web site, debit card and checkbook. In addition, comprehensive health information, quality data, as well as self-diagnosis tools, will also be available to Assurant Health HSA owners via the internet.

"Easy access to tools and information is the next step in making HSAs a practical health care solution for individuals, families and employers," said Assurant Health Senior Vice President-Development, Group Markets, Mike Kellen. "With the new addition of HSA Tools, consumers will be able to take control of both their health care choices and their health care financing."

Assurant Health is widely known as not only providing the first HSA in America, but also being the first to seamlessly integrate the high deductible health insurance with the tax-advantaged savings account. "HSA Tools is an extension of that key consumer benefit," said Kellen.

The HSA Tools internet site will provide Assurant Health HSA owners with the latest information on health care quality, enabling them to make sound, informed decisions on when, how and where to access health care. In addition, Assurant Health HSA owners will have the ability to manage their HSA online, accessing their balance, deposits, withdrawals and medical claims all in a secured internet environment. Assurant Health HSA owners will also be able to use a debit card, check, online check or electronic funds transfer to draw funds directly from the HSA to pay for health care expenditures.

To offer these HSA enhancements, Assurant Health has established relationships with outside companies, all highly regarded as experts in their fields:

--United Missouri Bank (UMB) (www.umb.com) will serve as custodian and, along with First Data Corporation (NYSE:FDC) (www.firstdata.com), will support the debit card access, transaction processing and production for Assurant Health's HSAs. UMB has been offering Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) and flexible spending cards since 1996. In addition to health care card solutions, UMB offers banking and related financial services to individuals and businesses nationwide. FDC is a leader in transaction processing functionality. UMB and FDC have a long history of successful partnership.

--Amisys Synertech (www.asihealth.com) and Choicelinx Corporation (www.choicelinx.com) will partner to provide the website capabilities of account management and health information access. Amisys Synertech will serve as the enrollment conduit between Assurant Health and the account custodian. Amisys Synertech will also provide HSA administration and customer support services. Amisys Synertech excels in delivering comprehensive information management software products and services to the health plan industry and has more than four years of experience serving the consumer-directed market. Choicelinx is a benefits technology and services company specializing in internet tools to support consumer-focused benefits products.

"Consumer choice health care is all about empowering Americans so that they can be the decision-makers when it comes to healthcare for themselves and their families," said Kellen. "The tools and information we're adding to our Assurant Health HSAs are designed to help Americans take even more control of their health care."

For more information on Assurant Health HSAs, visit www.assuranthealth.com.

About Assurant Health

In business since 1892, Assurant Health provides health insurance coverage for more than one million people nationwide. Assurant Health develops and provides a wide range of individual medical, small group, short term and student health insurance products, including consumer-choice products such as HSAs and HRAs. With almost 3,000 employees, Assurant Health is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., and has operations offices in Minnesota, Idaho, and Florida, as well as sales offices across the country. Assurant Health products are issued and underwritten by Fortis Insurance Co., John Alden Life Insurance Co., and Fortis Benefits Insurance Co. Assurant Health is found at www.assuranthealth.com.

Assurant Health is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other markets. Its four key businesses -- Assurant Employee Benefits; Assurant Health; Assurant Preneed; and Assurant Solutions -- have partnered with clients who are leaders in their industries and have built leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments in the U.S. and selected international markets. Assurant, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ, has over $20 billion in assets and $7 billion in revenue. www.assurant.com