NEW YORK, June 15, 2006—Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, today announced that Melissa Kivett, 37, has been promoted to senior vice president, investor relations, effective June 15, 2006. She succeeds Larry Cains, 59, who will continue to work in an advisory role to Ms. Kivett until his retirement in early August.
Robert B. Pollock, Assurant's president and chief executive officer, said: "Larry's career spans close to four decades. Since he joined Assurant in 1988, he has earned the respect and admiration of everyone within our organization for his knowledge, insight and integrity. He has made enormous contributions to our organization over the years and was instrumental in creating Assurant's investor relations function in anticipation of our 2004 IPO. We greatly appreciate all that Larry has done for our company and wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement."
Mr. Cains plans to retire in Monroe, N.J. with his wife, Sandy. He looks forward to spending time with his children and grandchildren and enjoying a variety of personal interests.
Ms. Kivett, formerly vice president, investor relations, assumes overall responsibility for Assurant's investor relations department. She will lead in the development of key financial communications and will serve as Assurant's primary liaison with the investment community.
"We are very fortunate to have a proven, 13-year veteran like Melissa ready to step into this role," said Mr. Pollock. "Not only has she been a key member of our investor relations team, she also managed communications for the company's IPO in 2004 and played a leading role in the development and implementation of the Assurant brand. Her knowledge of our business combined with her managerial experience and financial communications skills make her very well-qualified for this position."
Ms. Kivett joined Assurant in September of 1993 as marketing and communications coordinator, held multiple positions within the marketing and communications department and was named vice president, corporate marketing and communications in 2003. In this role, she was responsible for internal and external communications, brand management and public relations. In May 2004, she was named vice president, investor relations.
Ms. Kivett graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts and earned a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University. She is a member of the Financial Women's Association, Columbia Women in Business and the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI).
Ms. Kivett currently resides in New Jersey with her husband and two sons.
Assurant is 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 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