NEW YORK, December 22, 2004—Assurant, Inc. (NYSE: AIZ), today announced that it has promoted John A. Sondej to Senior Vice President and Controller, and Miles B. Yakre to Senior Vice President, Corporate Actuary and Treasurer. Both promotions will become effective January 1, 2005. Currently Vice President and Controller, Mr. Sondej will continue to oversee several areas of Assurant's financial operations, including: S.E.C. reporting and compliance, Sarbanes-Oxley 404 compliance, accounting policies and procedures, budgeting and analysis, and corporate accounting. Mr. Yakre, currently Vice President and Corporate Actuary and a co-chair of Assurant's Risk Management Committee, will continue to oversee Assurant's capital management and cash flow as well as the debt and commercial paper programs. He will also be responsible for actuarial oversight and reinsurance at the holding company.
"Both John and Miles have been key contributors to the company and played pivotal roles in our initial public offering earlier this year," said Rob Pollock, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "They have seen the complexity of their positions grow as a result of our status as a public company and have both done an exceptional job in their expanded roles."
Mr. Sondej, 39, joined Assurant in 1998 as Assistant Vice President and Assistant Controller. Prior to joining Assurant, Mr. Sondej was Assistant Vice President and Director of Financial Audit for Reliance Insurance Group. He also worked at KPMG where he was Senior Audit Manager. A Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Sondej is a member of the New Jersey Society of CPAs, the American Institute of CPAs and the Financial Executives Institute. Mr. Sondej graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1987.
Mr. Yakre, 36, joined Assurant Health's John Alden Life Insurance Company as an Associate Actuary in 1991. He held a number of key positions within the John Alden organization, including Vice President and Corporate Actuary, before joining Assurant in New York in 1999. A Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI), Mr. Yakre earned a B.S. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. He is also a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
About Assurant
Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other markets. The 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. The Assurant businesses provide creditor-placed homeowners insurance; manufactured housing homeowners insurance; debt protection administration; credit-related insurance; warranties and extended services contracts; individual health and small employer group health insurance; group dental insurance; group disability insurance; group life insurance; and pre-funded funeral insurance.
The company, 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. Assurant has more than 12,000 employees worldwide and is headquartered in New York's financial district. www.assurant.com
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