NEW YORK, October 19, 2006—Assurant, Inc. ("Assurant") (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance and insurance-related products and services, announced today that it has completed the sale of its equity interest in Private Healthcare Systems, Inc. (PHCS) to New York-based MultiPlan, Inc.

MultiPlan, a healthcare financial risk manager, acquired PHCS from Assurant and the other majority shareholders in PHCS.

Assurant's net proceeds from this transaction were approximately $146 million. The company also expects to record a pre-tax investment gain of approximately $98 million in its 2006 fourth quarter financial results in the Corporate and Other segment.

As part of the agreement, Assurant's health care customers will have long-term access to the PHCS and MultiPlan networks. With nearly 450,000 providers and over 4,000 facilities, PHCS serves more than 16 million lives. MultiPlan's network of over 4,000 hospitals, 90,000 ancillary care facilities and 700,000 practitioner locations is accessed by an estimated 27 million lives.

Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected international 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 worldwide.

Assurant, a Fortune 500 company, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has more than $20 billion in assets and $7 billion in annual revenue. The Assurant Web site is www.assurant.com.

Press Contact:
Drew Guthrie
Manager, Communications
and Media Relations
Phone: 212-859-7002
Fax: 212-859-5893
[email protected]

Investor Relations:
Melissa Kivett
Senior Vice President
Investor Relations
Phone: 212-859-7029
Fax: 212-859-5893
[email protected]

John Egan
Vice President
Investor Relations
Phone: 212-859-7197
Fax: 212-859-5893
[email protected]