NEW YORK, November 11, 2005—Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.08 per common share. The dividend will be payable on December 12, 2005 to shareholders of record as of November 28, 2005.
Future dividend declarations will be made at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be based on such factors as the company's earnings, financial condition, cash requirements, future prospects and other factors.
The Company also announced that it has essentially completed its $400 million share repurchase program approved in August 2004 and that its Board has approved a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to an additional $400 million of its outstanding common stock.
The share repurchase program may utilize open market and/or private transactions. The amount and timing of the repurchases will depend upon market conditions.
J. Kerry Clayton, Assurant's chief executive officer said: "Our repurchases of company stock demonstrate the confidence we have in our ability to generate long-term profitable growth through our diversified specialty insurance strategy."
On September 30, 2005, the Company had 132.6 million shares of common stock outstanding.
Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other international markets. Its five key businesses -- Assurant Employee Benefits; Assurant Health; Assurant Preneed; Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property -- 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 annual revenue. www.assurant.com
Press Contact:
Drew Guthrie
Manager, Communications
and Media Relations
Phone: 212-859-7002
Fax: 212-859-5893
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Investor Relations:
Melissa Kivett
Vice President
Investor Relations
Phone: 212-859-7029
Fax: 212-859-5893
[email protected]
Larry Cains
Senior Vice President
Investor Relations
Phone: 212-859-7045
Fax: 212-859-5893
[email protected]