NEW YORK, November 10, 2006—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 $0.10 per common share and has authorized the repurchase of up to $600 million of its common stock.
The dividend will be payable on December 11, 2006 to shareholders of record as of November 27, 2006. 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 new repurchase program will commence once the company completes its current $400 million repurchase program authorized in November 2005. As of October 31, 2006, the company had repurchased 7.7 million shares for $378 million. Since inception of the company's first repurchase program in 2004, Assurant has repurchased a total of 19.5 million shares for $784 million.
Purchases under the new program will be made periodically and may utilize open market and/or private transactions. The timing of purchases will be subject to management evaluation of current market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The stock repurchase program is not subject to an expiration date.
"The new share repurchase authorization demonstrates our solid financial position and our commitment to returning capital to shareholders while we invest in our businesses for long-term profitable growth," said Robert B. Pollock, Assurant's president and chief executive officer. "Our priorities for deploying excess capital continue to be: making investments which support the growth of our businesses in targeted product areas, looking for opportunities to make prudent add-on acquisitions and returning capital to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases."
As of September 30, 2006, the company had 124.5 million common shares outstanding.
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
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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]