A.M. Best Assigns Indicative Ratings to Assurant Inc.’s New Shelf Registration

A.M. Best has assigned indicative ratings of “bbb” to senior unsecured debt, “bbb-” to subordinated debt and “bb+” to preferred stock of Assurant Inc. (Assurant) (headquartered in New York, NY) [NYSE:AIZ]. These securities may be issued under Assurant’s recently filed universal shelf registration, which is effective Nov. 4, 2014. Assurant’s previous shelf registration expired Nov. 6, 2014. The outlook assigned to these ratings is positive.

The indicative ratings reflect the strong operating earnings and solid risk-adjusted capitalization of Assurant’s operating subsidiaries, as well as moderate financial leverage at the holding company level, with adjusted debt-to-tangible capital of 25.1% at Sept. 30, 2014. Assurant’s financial leverage and coverage ratios are in line with A.M. Best’s guidelines for the indicative ratings assigned to the shelf instruments.

The methodology used in determining these ratings is Best’s Credit Rating Methodology, which provides a comprehensive explanation of A.M. Best’s rating process and contains the different rating criteria employed in the rating process. Best’s Credit Rating Methodology can be found at www.ambest.com/ratings/methodology.

Key insurance criteria reports utilized:

• Analyzing Insurance Holding Company Liquidity

• Equity Credit for Hybrid Securities

• Insurance Holding Company and Debt Ratings

• Rating Members of Insurance Groups

• Risk Management and the Rating Process for Insurance Companies

• Understanding Universal BCAR

A.M. Best Company is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

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