Board of Directors

John Michael Palms, PhD., D.Sc., (Hon), LHD, (Hon), Chairman of the Board. Dr. Palms, age 73, has been a member of our Board of Directors since March 1990 and became Chairman in October 2003. Dr. Palms is a Distinguished University Professor and Distinguished President Emeritus at the University of South Carolina. He served as the President of the University of South Carolina from 1991 until his retirement in 2002. Earlier in his career, Dr. Palms served as President of Georgia State University, held the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Physics Chair at Emory University where he also served as its Vice President for Academic Affairs. Dr. Palms currently serves on the Boards of the Computer Task Group, The GEO Group, Inc., Simcom International, Maroon Biotechnology, and is the Chair of Exelon Corporation's audit committee. He is also Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Defense Analyses. In the past, Dr. Palms has been a member of various additional company committees and boards including the University of South Carolina's Educational and Development Foundation Boards, Spoleto Festival Board, NationsBank of the Carolinas' audit committee, the audit committee of the Board of Directors of Carolina First Bank, the Mynd Corporation's compensation committee, and Chair of PECO Energy's nuclear committee.

Dr. Robert J. Blendon, Sc.D., Director. Dr. Blendon, age 65, has been a member of our Board of Directors since March 1993. Dr. Blendon has been a professor of Health Policy at Harvard University's School of Public Health and a professor of Political Analysis at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government since 1987. Previously, he served as Vice President of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Beth L. Bronner, Director. Ms. Bronner, age 56, has been a member of our Board of Directors since January 1994. Ms. Bronner served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Jim Beam Brands, a division of Fortune Brands from 2003 to July 2006. Prior to joining Jim Beam Brands, Ms. Bronner was a Partner at LERA Consulting in Chicago. Prior to joining LERA Consulting in 2002, Ms. Bronner was the President and Chief Operating Officer of ADVO, Inc., the nation's largest full-service targeted direct mail marketing company. Before joining ADVO, Inc. in 2000, Ms. Bronner was President of the Health Division at Sunbeam Corporation. She has also served as Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing of North American Consumer Banking at Citibank, N.A. and Vice-President of Emerging Markets for AT&T Company. Since 1993, she has been a member of the Board of Directors of The Hain-Celestial Group Inc., and has chaired its compensation committee. Ms. Bronner also served on the Board of Directors of Cool Brands, Inc, a Canadian company until November 2006. Additionally, Ms. Bronner is a member of the boards of several charitable organizations such as the Cradle Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the Goodman Theater in Chicago. She is a former trustee of the New School in New York City.

Howard L. Carver, Director. Mr. Carver, age 63, has been a member of our Board of Directors since March 2002. Mr. Carver retired as an Office Managing Partner of Ernst & Young in June of 2002. Mr. Carver's career at Ernst & Young spanned five decades, beginning as an auditor and a financial consultant. He later became the director of insurance operations in several Ernst & Young offices, and served as Regional Director of insurance operations, Associate National Director of insurance operations, Co-Chairman of Ernst & Young's International Insurance Committee and was a member of the Ernst & Young National Insurance Steering Committee. He currently is a director and has served on the audit, trust and compliance committees of StoneMor Partners LP since August 2005. Until its sale in January 2007, he was a director and chair of the audit committee of Open Solutions, Inc. Until March 2004, he was a director and chaired the audit committee of the Phoenix National Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Phoenix Group. Mr. Carver is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Connecticut Society of CPAs. Mr. Carver also serves on the boards and/or finance committees of several civic/charitable organizations.

Juan N. Cento, Director. Mr. Cento, age 56, was elected to our Board of Directors in May 2006. Mr. Cento is the President of the Latin America & Caribbean Division of FedEx Express, headquartered in Miami. Mr. Cento has more than 28 years of experience in the air cargo and express transportation industry. He previously worked with the Flying Tigers Line, Inc. and transitioned to FedEx in 1989 when the two companies were combined. Mr. Cento is actively involved in several non-profit organizations. Between 2002 and 2004, he served as Chairman of the Board for the International Kids Fund. Mr. Cento also sits on the Board of Directors of the Jay Malina International Trade Consortium of Miami-Dade County and the Beacon Council (Florida's Economic Development Agency). He is a member of the University of Miami International Advisory Board, and is part of the Board of Trustees for the Free Trade Area of The Americas (FTAA). Additionally, Mr. Cento was President of the Board of Directors for CLADEC (Latin American Conference of Express Companies) during the 2002-2004 term.

Allen R. Freedman, Director. Mr. Freedman, age 68, has been a member of our Board of Directors since its inception in 1979. Mr. Freedman is also a director of Union Security Life Insurance Company of New York, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Freedman is currently the owner and principal of arfreedman&co, a corporate strategy development firm and is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, where he served as Chief Executive Officer until May 2000 and Chairman until his retirement in July 2000. In 1979, Mr. Freedman became the Company's President and first employee, initiating the Company's initial strategy and orchestrating its growth over the next 21 years. Beginning in 1978, he initiated and supervised most aspects of Assurant's U.S. operations. Since his retirement as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, he has served as a Director of StoneMor Partners LP (formerly Cornerstone Family Services) and as Chairman of its audit committee and a member of its investment committee. Until January 2007, he also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Indus International, Inc. Mr. Freedman is a member of the Board of Directors of Loring Ward International Ltd., a Canadian company and chairs its compensation committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Audit Committee Members, Inc.

David B. Kelso, Director. Mr. Kelso, age 55, was elected to our Board of Directors in March 2007. Mr. Kelso is a financial advisor for Kelso Advisory Services, a company he started in 2003 following two years with Aetna, Inc. where he served as executive vice president, strategy and finance. From 1996 to 2001, Mr. Kelso was executive vice president, chief financial officer and managing director of Chubb Corporation. Prior to joining Chubb, he served as executive vice president, chief financial officer and personal segment leader for retail and small business banking for First Commerce Corporation, a company he joined in 1992. From 1982 to 1992, Mr. Kelso worked for Gemini Consulting Group where he was partner in the North American banking practice. Mr. Kelso began his professional career in 1974 as an associate with Chemical Bank.

Charles John Koch, Director. Mr. Koch, age 61, was elected to our Board of Directors in August 2005. Mr. Koch is Vice Chairman of the Board of Citizens Financial Group, and on the Board of Directors of The Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr. Koch was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charter One Financial, Inc. prior to its sale to The Royal Bank of Scotland. He was elected President and Chief Operating Officer in 1980, President and Chief Executive Officer in 1988 and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer in 1995. Mr. Koch is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of John Carroll University and a trustee of Case Western Reserve University.

H. Carroll Mackin, Director. Mr. Mackin, age 67, is the former Executive Vice President and Treasurer of the Company, where he served from 1980 until his retirement in 1997. Mr. Mackin has been a member of our Board of Directors since October 1996 and is also a director of Union Security Life Insurance Company of New York, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Mackin served as a consultant to the Company in 1979. He was the Company's fourth employee and initiated many of the Company's early activities, including consolidating its investment departments and its first treasury function. Before joining the Company, he was Director of Investments at Forstmann, Leff. He is currently principal owner of Great Northern Manufacturing, LLC, a Louisville, Kentucky based manufacturer of specialty nails and a member of the Board of Priam Water Co., LLC.

Robert B. Pollock, Director. Mr. Pollock, age 53, has been serving as a director and as our President and Chief Executive Officer since March 2006. He served as our President and Chief Operating Officer between July 2005 and March 2006. Previously, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer starting in January 1999. From 1993 to 1999, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Employee Benefits. Mr. Pollock began his career as an actuary at CUNA Mutual Insurance Group in 1974. He then joined the Company as a staff actuary at Assurant Employee Benefits in 1981. In July 1992, Mr. Pollock was appointed Senior Vice President, Group Life and Disability at Assurant Employee Benefits. In July 1993, he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurant Employee Benefits. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Mr. Pollock was the Chairman of the Disability Insurance Committee for the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) for three years.