On February 11, 2009, A.M. Best Co. ("A.M. Best") affirmed the financial strength ratings of the Company's primary life/health subsidiaries at A+, and announced a one-step downgrade of the debt ratings of the Company to a- from a, and a one-step downgrade of the issuer credit ratings ("ICR") to aa- from aa of the Company's primary life/health subsidiaries. A.M. Best stated that the outlook for all ratings has been revised to negative from stable. On February 12, 2009, Moody's downgraded the senior debt rating of the Company to Baa2 from Baa1. The Insurer Financial Strength ("IFS") ratings of the Company's life insurance subsidiaries, including PLICO, were downgraded to A2 from A1. The outlook for the ratings has been changed to negative. On February 26, 2009, Standard & Poor's lowered both the IFS ratings and the ICR of the Company's life insurance subsidiaries, including PLICO, to AA- from AA. In addition, Standard & Poor's downgraded the ICR for the Company to A- from A. The outlook for the ratings was affirmed as stable.

        On September 16, 2009, Fitch announced a one-step downgrade of the IFS ratings of the Company's life insurance subsidiaries, including PLICO, to A from A+, a one-step downgrade of the Company's issuer default rating to BBB+ from A-, and a one-step downgrade of the Company's senior debt rating from BBB+ to BBB. Fitch stated that the ratings outlook is negative.

        The Company's ratings are subject to review and change by the rating organizations at any time and without notice. A downgrade or other negative action by a ratings organization with respect to the financial strength ratings of the Company's insurance subsidiaries could adversely affect sales, relationships with distributors, the level of policy surrenders and withdrawals, competitive position in the marketplace, and the cost or availability of reinsurance. A downgrade or other negative action by a ratings organization with respect to the Company's credit rating could limit its access to capital markets and increase the cost of issuing debt, and a downgrade of sufficient magnitude, combined with other negative factors, could require the Company to post collateral.

Life Insurance In-Force

        The following table shows life insurance sales by face amount and life insurance in-force:

        The ratio of voluntary terminations of individual life insurance to mean individual life insurance in-force, which is determined by dividing the amount of insurance terminated due to lapses during the year

12

Table of Contents

by the mean of the insurance in-force at the beginning and end of the year, adjusted for the timing of major acquisitions is as follows:

Investment Products In-Force

        The amount of investment products in-force is measured by account balances. The following table shows stable value product segment, acquisitions segment, and annuity segment account balances. Most of the variable annuity account balances are reported in the Company's financial statements as liabilities related to separate accounts.

        Below are the fixed annuity account balances by segment:

        Below are the variable annuity account balances by segment:

Underwriting

        The underwriting policies of the Company's insurance subsidiaries are established by management. With respect to individual insurance, the subsidiaries use information from the application and, in some cases, inspection reports, attending physician statements, or medical examinations to determine whether a policy should be issued as applied for, other than applied for, or rejected. Medical examinations of applicants are required for individual life insurance in excess of certain prescribed amounts (which vary based on the type of insurance) and for most individual insurance applied for by applicants over age 50. In the case of "simplified issue" policies, which are issued primarily through the Asset Protection segment,

13

Table of Contents

coverage is rejected if the responses to certain health questions contained in the application indicate adverse health of the applicant. For other than "simplified issue" policies, medical examinations are requested of any applicant, regardless of age and amount of requested coverage, if an examination is deemed necessary to underwrite the risk. Substandard risks may be referred to reinsurers for evaluation of the substandard risk.

        The Company's insurance subsidiaries generally require blood samples to be drawn with individual insurance applications above certain face amounts based on the applicant's age, except in the worksite and BOLI markets where limited blood testing is required. Blood samples are tested for a wide range of chemical values and are screened for antibodies to certain viruses. Applications also contain questions permitted by law regarding certain viruses which must be answered by the proposed insureds.

        During the third quarter of 2006, the Company introduced an advanced underwriting system, TeleLife®, through the brokerage agent distribution channel for traditional insurance. TeleLife® streamlines the application process through a telephonic interview of the applicant, schedules medical exams, accelerates the underwriting process and the ultimate issuance of a policy mostly through electronic means, and reduces the number of attending physician statements. The TeleLife® program was expanded to include the stock brokerage channel in 2008. In 2009, the Company expanded the scope of the TeleLife® program to include all term applications under $1,000,000 in the individual agent channel.

        During 2008, the Company increased its retention limit to $2,000,000 on certain of its traditional life products.

Reinsurance Ceded

        The Company's insurance subsidiaries cede insurance to other insurance companies. The ceding insurance company remains liable with respect to ceded insurance should any reinsurer fail to meet the obligations assumed by it. The Company has also used reinsurance to reinsure guaranteed minimum death benefit ("GMDB") claims relative to its variable annuity contracts.

        For approximately 10 years prior to mid-2005, the Company entered into reinsurance contracts in which the Company ceded a significant percentage, generally 90% of its newly written business on a first dollar quota share basis. The Company's traditional life insurance was ceded under coinsurance contracts and universal life insurance was ceded under yearly renewable term ("YRT") contracts. In mid-2005, the Company substantially discontinued coinsuring its newly written traditional life insurance and moved to YRT reinsurance as discussed below. The Company continues to reinsure 90% of the mortality risk, but not the account values, on its newly written universal life insurance.

        The Company currently enters into reinsurance contracts with reinsurers under YRT contracts to provide coverage for insurance issued in excess of the amount it retains on any one life. The amount of insurance retained on any one life was $500,000 in years prior to mid-2005. In 2005, this retention was increased to amounts up to $1,000,000 for certain policies, and during 2008, was increased to $2,000,000 for certain policies.

        As of December 31, 2009, the Company had insurance in-force of $775.1 billion, of which approximately $515.1 billion was ceded to reinsurers. See Note 8, Reinsurance to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to the Company's use of reinsurance.

Policy Liabilities and Accruals

        The applicable insurance laws under which the Company's insurance subsidiaries operate require that each insurance company report policy liabilities to meet future obligations on the outstanding policies. These liabilities are the amounts which, with the additional premiums to be received and interest thereon compounded annually at certain assumed rates, are calculated in accordance with applicable law to be

14

Table of Contents

sufficient to meet the various policy and contract obligations as they mature. These laws specify that the liabilities shall not be less than liabilities calculated using certain named mortality tables and interest rates.

        The policy liabilities and accruals carried in the Company's financial reports presented on the basis of accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") differ from those specified by the laws of the various states and carried in the insurance subsidiaries' statutory financial statements (presented on the basis of statutory accounting principles mandated by state insurance regulations). For policy liabilities other than those for universal life policies, annuity contracts, GICs, and funding agreements, these differences arise from the use of mortality and morbidity tables and interest rate assumptions which are deemed to be more appropriate for financial reporting purposes than those required for statutory accounting purposes, from the introduction of lapse assumptions into the calculation, and from the use of the net level premium method on all business. Policy liabilities for universal life policies, annuity contracts, GICs, and funding agreements are generally carried in the Company's financial reports at the account value of the policy or contract plus accrued interest, with certain exceptions as permitted by actuarial guidelines.

Federal Income Tax

        Existing federal laws and regulations affect the taxation of the Company's products. Income tax payable by policyholders on investment earnings is deferred during the accumulation period of certain life insurance and annuity products. This favorable tax treatment may give certain of the Company's products a competitive advantage over other non-insurance products. To the extent that Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Code") is revised to reduce the tax-deferred status of life insurance and annuity products, or to increase the tax-deferred status of competing products, all life insurance companies, including the Company and its subsidiaries, will be adversely affected with respect to their ability to sell such products. Also, depending upon grandfathering provisions, the Company will be affected by the surrenders of existing annuity contracts and life insurance policies.

        Additionally, if enacted, proposed changes in the federal tax law would establish new tax-advantaged retirement and life savings plans that will reduce the tax advantage of investing in life insurance or annuity products. Such proposals include changes that create new non-life-insurance vehicles for tax-exempt savings, and such proposals sometimes include provisions for more generous annual limits on contributions, etc.

        In addition, life insurance products are often used to fund estate tax obligations. Legislation was enacted that reduced and eventually eliminated the federal estate tax. Under this legislation, the estate tax will be reinstated, usually in its entirety, in 2011 and thereafter. Members of Congress have expressed a desire to modify the existing legislation, which modification could result in faster or more complete reduction or repeal of the estate tax. If the estate tax is significantly reduced or eliminated, the demand for certain life insurance products could be adversely affected.

        Additionally, the Company is subject to corporate income tax. The Company cannot predict what changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law may ultimately be enacted or adopted or whether such changes will adversely affect the Company.

        The Company's insurance subsidiaries are taxed by the federal government in a manner similar to companies in other industries. However, certain restrictions apply regarding the consolidation of recently-acquired life insurance companies into the Company's consolidated U.S. income tax return. Additionally, restrictions apply to the combining, in a consolidated U.S. income tax return, of life-insurance-company taxable income or losses with non-life-insurance-company taxable losses, or income respectively. For 2009, the Company will consolidate all of its subsidiaries into its consolidated U.S. income tax return except for Protective Life Insurance Company of New York. The former Chase life insurance companies that were merged into PLICO were consolidated as of the date at which each was merged. The Company filed short-period returns for those merged companies representing activity during the pre-merger timeframe.

15

Table of Contents

Competition

        Life and health insurance is a mature and highly competitive industry. In recent years, the industry has experienced little growth in life insurance sales, though the aging population has increased the demand for retirement savings products. The Company encounters significant competition in all lines of business from other insurance companies, many of which have greater financial resources than the Company and which may have a greater market share, offer a broader range of products, services or features, assume a greater level of risk, have lower operating or financing costs, or have lower profitability expectations. The Company also faces competition from other providers of financial services. Competition could result in, among other things, lower sales or higher lapses of existing products.

        The Company's move away from reliance on reinsurance for newly written traditional life products results in a net reduction of current taxes, but an increase in deferred taxes. The Company allocates the benefits of reduced current taxes to the life marketing segment and the profitability and competitive position of certain products is dependent on the continuation of existing tax rules and interpretations and the Company's ability to generate taxable income.

        The insurance industry is consolidating, with larger, potentially more efficient organizations emerging from consolidation. Participants in certain of the Company's independent distribution channels are also consolidating into larger organizations. Some mutual insurance companies have converted to stock ownership, which gives them greater access to capital markets. The ability of banks to increase their securities-related business or to affiliate with insurance companies may materially and adversely affect sales of all of the Company's products by substantially increasing the number and financial strength of potential competitors.

        The Company's ability to compete is dependent upon, among other things, its ability to attract and retain distribution channels to market its insurance and investment products, its ability to develop competitive and profitable products, its ability to maintain low unit costs, and its maintenance of adequate ratings from rating agencies.

        As technology evolves, comparison of a particular product of any company for a particular customer with competing products for that customer is more readily available, which could lead to increased competition as well as agent or customer behavior, including persistency that differs from past behavior.

Risk Management

        Risk management is a critical part of the Company's business, and the Company has adopted risk management processes in multiple aspects of its operations, including product development and management, business acquisitions, underwriting, investment management, asset-liability management, and technology development projects. Risk management includes the assessment of risk, a decision process to determine which risks are acceptable and the ongoing monitoring and management of those risks. The primary objective of these risk management processes is to determine the acceptable level of variations the Company experiences from its expected results.

Regulation

        The Company and its subsidiaries are subject to government regulation in each of the states in which it conducts business. Such regulation is vested in state agencies having broad administrative and in some instances discretionary power dealing with many aspects of the Company's business, which may include, among other things, premium rates and increases thereto, reserve requirements, marketing practices, advertising, privacy, policy forms, reinsurance reserve requirements, acquisitions, mergers, and capital adequacy, and is concerned primarily with the protection of policyholders and other customers rather than shareowners. At any given time, a number of financial and/or market conduct examinations of the Company's subsidiaries may be ongoing. From time to time, regulators raise issues during examinations or

16

Table of Contents

audits of the Company's subsidiaries that could, if determined adverse, have a material impact on the Company. The Company's insurance subsidiaries are required to obtain state regulatory approval for rate increases for certain health insurance products, and the Company's profits may be adversely affected if the requested rate increases are not approved in full by regulators in a timely fashion.

        The purchase of life insurance products is limited by state insurable interest laws, which generally require that the purchaser of life insurance name a beneficiary that has some interest in the sustained life of the insured. To some extent, the insurable interest laws present a barrier to the life settlement, or "stranger-owned" industry, in which a financial entity acquires an interest in life insurance proceeds, and efforts have been made in some states to liberalize the insurable interest laws. To the extent these laws are relaxed, the Company's lapse assumptions may prove to be incorrect.

        The Company cannot predict whether or when regulatory actions may be taken that could adversely affect the Company or its operations. Interpretations of regulations by regulators may change and statutes, regulations and interpretations may be applied with retroactive impact, particularly in areas such as accounting or reserve requirements. Although the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to state regulation, in many instances the state regulatory models emanate from the NAIC. Some of the NAIC pronouncements, particularly as they affect accounting issues, take effect automatically in the various states without affirmative action by the states. Although with respect to some financial regulations and guidelines, states sometimes defer to the interpretation of the insurance department of the state of domicile. Neither the action of the domiciliary state nor the action of the NAIC is binding on a state. Accordingly, a state could choose to follow a different interpretation. Also, regulatory actions with prospective impact can potentially have a significant impact on currently sold products. In addition, accounting and actuarial groups within the NAIC have studied whether to change the accounting standards that relate to certain reinsurance credits, and if changes were made, whether they should be applied retrospectively, prospectively only, or in a phased-in manner. A requirement to reduce the reserve credits on ceded business, if applied retroactively, would have a negative impact on the statutory capital of the Company. The NAIC continues to work to reform state regulation in various areas, including comprehensive reforms relating to life insurance reserves.

        At the federal level, bills are routinely introduced in both chambers of the United States Congress which could affect life insurers. In the past, Congress has considered legislation that would impact insurance companies in numerous ways, such as providing for an optional federal charter or a federal presence for insurance, pre-empting state law in certain respects to the regulation of reinsurance, increasing federal oversight in areas such as consumer protection and solvency regulation, and other matters. The Company cannot predict whether or in what form reforms will be enacted and, if so, whether the enacted reforms will positively or negatively affect the Company or whether any effects will be material.

        The Company's insurance subsidiaries are required to file detailed annual reports with the supervisory agencies in each of the jurisdictions in which they do business and their business, and accounts are subject to examination by such agencies at any time. Under the rules of the NAIC, insurance companies are examined periodically (generally every three to five years) by one or more of the supervisory agencies on behalf of the states in which they do business. At any given time, a number of financial and/or market conduct examinations of the Company's subsidiaries may be ongoing. To date, no such insurance department examinations have produced any significant adverse findings regarding any of the Company's insurance company subsidiaries.

        Under insurance guaranty fund laws, in most states insurance companies doing business therein can be assessed up to prescribed limits for policyholder losses incurred by insolvent companies. Although the Company cannot predict the amount of any future assessments, most insurance guaranty fund laws currently provide that an assessment may be excused or deferred if it would threaten an insurer's own financial strength.

17

Table of Contents

        In addition, many states, including the states in which the Company's insurance subsidiaries are domiciled, have enacted legislation or adopted regulations regarding insurance holding company systems. These laws require registration of and periodic reporting by insurance companies domiciled within the jurisdiction which control or are controlled by other corporations or persons so as to constitute an insurance holding company system. These laws also affect the acquisition of control of insurance companies as well as transactions between insurance companies and companies controlling them. Most states, including Tennessee, where PLICO is domiciled, require administrative approval of the acquisition of control of an insurance company domiciled in the state or the acquisition of control of an insurance holding company whose insurance subsidiary is incorporated in the state. In Tennessee, the acquisition of 10% of the voting securities of an entity is deemed to be the acquisition of control for the purpose of the insurance holding company statute and requires not only the filing of detailed information concerning the acquiring parties and the plan of acquisition, but also administrative approval prior to the acquisition. The NAIC is currently considering revising the NAIC Model Insurance Company Holding Act.

        The states in which the Company's insurance subsidiaries are domiciled impose certain restrictions on the subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends to the Company. These restrictions are based in part on the prior year's statutory income and surplus. In general, dividends up to specified levels are considered ordinary and may be paid without prior approval. Dividends in larger amounts are subject to approval by the insurance commissioner of the state of domicile. The maximum amount that would qualify as ordinary dividends to the Company by its insurance subsidiaries in 2010 is estimated to be $704.8 million. No assurance can be given that more stringent restrictions will not be adopted from time to time by states in which the Company's insurance subsidiaries are domiciled; such restrictions could have the effect, under certain circumstances, of significantly reducing dividends or other amounts payable to the Company by such subsidiaries without affirmative prior approval by state regulatory authorities.

        The Company's insurance subsidiaries may be subject to regulation by the United States Department of Labor when providing a variety of products and services to employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Severe penalties are imposed for breach of duties under ERISA.

        Certain policies, contracts, and annuities offered by the Company's subsidiaries are subject to regulation under the federal securities laws administered by the SEC. The federal securities laws contain regulatory restrictions and criminal, administrative, and private remedial provisions.

        Additional issues related to regulation of the Company and its insurance subsidiaries are discussed in Item 1A, Risk Factors and Cautionary Factors that may Affect Future Results and in Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, included herein.

Employees

        As of December 31, 2009, the Company had approximately 2,317 employees, of which 2,302 were full-time and 15 were part-time employees. Included in the total were approximately 1,315 employees in Birmingham, Alabama, of which 1,305 were full-time and 10 were part-time employees. The Company believes its relations with its employees are satisfactory. Most employees are covered by contributory major medical, dental, vision, group life, and long-term disability insurance plans. The cost of these benefits to the Company in 2009 was approximately $10.5 million. In addition, substantially all of the employees are covered by a defined benefit pension plan. In 2009, 2008 and 2007, the Company also matched employee contributions to its 401(k) Plan. Additionally, in 2007, the Company made discretionary profit sharing contributions for employees not otherwise covered by a bonus or sales incentive plan. See Note 13, Stock-Based Compensation and Note 14, Employee Benefit Plans to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information.

18

Table of Contents

Available Information

        The Company files reports with the SEC, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and other reports as required. The public may read and copy any materials the Company files with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. We are an electronic filer and the SEC maintains an internet site at www.sec.gov that contains the reports, proxy and information statements, and other information filed electronically.

        The Company makes available free of charge through its website, www.protective.com, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials is electronically filed with or furnished to the SEC. The information found on our website is not part of this or any other report filed with or furnished to the SEC

        The Company will also have available copies of the Company's Proxy Statement and the 2009 Annual Report to Shareowners which will be furnished to anyone who requests such documents from the Company. Requests for copies should be directed to: Shareowner Relations, Protective Life Corporation, P. O. Box 2606, Birmingham, Alabama 35202, Telephone (205) 268-3573, Fax (205) 268-5547.

Executive Officers

        As of February 24, 2010, the Company's executive officers were as follows:

        All executive officers are elected annually and serve at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. None of the executive officers are related to any director of the Company or to any other executive officer.

        Mr. Johns has been Chairman of the Board of the Company since January 2003, and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since December 2001. He has been a Director of the Company since May 1997. Mr. Johns has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1993.

        Mr. Bielen has been Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer since June 2007. From August 2006 to June 2007, Mr. Bielen served as Executive Vice President of the Company and as Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer from January 2002 to June 2007. From January 2002 to September 2006, he was Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Bielen has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1991.

        Mr. Berko has been Executive Vice President and Chief Risk Officer of the Company since August 2009. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Berko served as Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer with MetLife, Inc. from 2005 to 2009.

19

Table of Contents

        Ms. Johnson has been Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company since June 2007. From November 2006 to June 2007, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operations and Technology Officer of the Company. Ms. Johnson served as Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Life and Annuity of the Company from May 2006 to November 2006. From August 2004 to May 2006, she served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Life and Annuity of Protective Life Insurance Company. Ms. Johnson has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 2004.

        Ms. Long has been Executive Vice President of the Company since May 2007 and Secretary and General Counsel of the Company since November 1996. Ms. Long has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1994.

        Mr. Thigpen has been Executive Vice President and Chief Investments Officer of the Company since June 2007. From January 2002 to June 2007, Mr. Thigpen served as Senior Vice President and Chief Mortgage and Real Estate Officer of the Company. Mr. Thigpen has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1984.

        Mr. Adams has been Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company since April 2006. From May 2005 to March 2006, he served as an Executive Search Consultant for the wealth and investment management business sector with Anderson & Associates in Charlotte, NC.

        Mr. Griggs has been Senior Vice President, Asset Protection, of the Company since February 2003. Mr. Griggs has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1997.

        Ms. King has been Senior Vice President, Acquisitions of the Company since May 2008. From June 2007 to May 2008, Ms. King served as Senior Vice President, Acquisitions and Corporate Development. From December 2003 to June 2007, she served as Senior Vice President, Acquisitions of the Company. Ms. King has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1995.

        Mr. Walker has been Senior Vice President, Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer of the Company since March 2004. From September 2003 through March 2004, he served as Vice President, Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer of the Company. Mr. Walker has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 2002.

        Ms. Wilson has been Senior Vice President, Stable Value Products of the Company since January 1995. Ms. Wilson has been employed by the Company and its subsidiaries since 1989.

        Certain of these executive officers also serve as executive officers and/or directors of various of the Company's subsidiaries.

Item 1A.    Risk Factors and Cautionary Factors that may Affect Future Results

        The operating results of companies in the insurance industry have historically been subject to significant fluctuations. The factors which could affect the Company's future results include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions and the known trends and uncertainties which are discussed more fully below.

The Company is exposed to the risks of natural and man-made catastrophes, pandemics, malicious and terrorist acts that could adversely affect the Company's operations and results.

        While the Company has obtained insurance, implemented risk management and contingency plans, and taken preventive measures and other precautions, no predictions of specific scenarios can be made nor can assurance be given that there are not scenarios that could have an adverse effect on the Company. A natural or man-made catastrophe, pandemic, malicious or terrorist act could adversely affect the mortality or morbidity experience of the Company or its reinsurers. Such events could result in a substantial increase in mortality experience and have a significant negative impact on the Company. In addition, claims arising from such events could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of

20

Table of Contents

operations. Such events could also have an adverse effect on lapses and surrenders of existing policies, as well as sales of new policies.

        In addition, such events could result in a decrease or halt in economic activity in large geographic areas, adversely affecting the marketing or administration of the Company's business within such geographic areas and/or the general economic climate, which in turn could have an adverse affect on the Company. The possible macroeconomic effects of such events could also adversely affect the Company's asset portfolio, as well as many other variables.

The Company operates in a mature, highly competitive industry, which could limit its ability to gain or maintain its position in the industry and negatively affect profitability.

        The insurance industry is a mature and highly competitive industry. In recent years, the industry has experienced little growth in life insurance sales. The Company encounters significant competition in all lines of business from other insurance companies, many of which have greater financial resources and higher ratings than the Company and which may have a greater market share, offer a broader range of products, services or features, assume a greater level of risk, have lower operating or financing costs, or have different profitability expectations than the Company. The Company also faces competition from other providers of financial services. Competition could result in, among other things, lower sales or higher lapses of existing products.

        The insurance industry is consolidating, with larger, potentially more efficient organizations emerging from consolidation. Participants in certain of the Company's independent distribution channels are also consolidating into larger organizations. Some mutual insurance companies have converted to stock ownership, which gives them greater access to capital markets. The ability of banks to increase their securities-related business or to affiliate with insurance companies may materially and adversely affect sales of all of the Company's products by substantially increasing the number and financial strength of potential competitors. Consolidation and expansion among banks, insurance companies, and other financial service companies with which the Company does business could also have an adverse affect on its financial condition and results of operations if they require more favorable terms than the Company previously offered or if they elect not to continue to do business with the Company following consolidation or expansion.

        The Company's ability to compete is dependent upon, among other things, its ability to attract and retain distribution channels to market its insurance and investment products, its ability to develop competitive and profitable products, its ability to maintain low unit costs, and its maintenance of adequate ratings from rating agencies.

        As technology evolves, comparison of a particular product of any company for a particular customer with competing products for that customer is more readily available, which could lead to increased competition as well as agent or customer behavior, including persistency that differs from past behavior.

The Company operates as a holding company and depends on the ability of its subsidiaries to transfer funds to it to meet its obligations and pay dividends.

        The Company operates as a holding company for its insurance and other subsidiaries and does not have any significant operations of its own. The Company's primary sources of funding are dividends from its operating subsidiaries; revenues from investment, data processing, legal, and management services rendered to subsidiaries; investment income; and external financing. These funding sources support the Company's general corporate needs including its common stock dividends and debt service. If the funding the Company receives from its subsidiaries is insufficient for it to fund its debt service and other holding company obligations, it may be required to raise funds through the incurrence of debt, the issuance of additional equity, or the sale of assets.

21

Table of Contents

        The states in which the Company's insurance subsidiaries are domiciled impose certain restrictions on the subsidiaries' ability to pay dividends and make other payments to the Company. State insurance regulators may prohibit the payment of dividends or other payments to the Company by its insurance subsidiaries if they determine that the payments could be adverse to the policyholders or contract holders of the insurance subsidiaries.

A ratings downgrade or other negative action by a ratings organization could adversely affect the Company.

        Various Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations ("rating organizations") review the financial performance and condition of insurers, including the Company's insurance subsidiaries, and publish their financial strength ratings as indicators of an insurer's ability to meet policyholder and contract holder obligations. While ratings are not a recommendation to buy the Company's securities, these ratings are important to maintaining public confidence in the Company's products, its ability to market its products, and its competitive position. A downgrade or other negative action by a ratings organization with respect to the financial strength ratings of the Company's insurance subsidiaries could adversely affect the Company in many ways, including the following: reducing new sales of insurance and investment products; adversely affecting relationships with distributors and sales agents; increasing the number or amount of policy surrenders and withdrawals of funds; requiring a reduction in prices for the Company's insurance products and services in order to remain competitive; and adversely affecting the Company's ability to obtain reinsurance at a reasonable price, on reasonable terms or at all. A downgrade of sufficient magnitude could result in the Company, its insurance subsidiaries, or both being required to collateralize reserves, balances or obligations under reinsurance, funding, swap, and securitization agreements. A downgrade of sufficient magnitude could also result in the termination of funding and swap agreements.

        Rating organizations also publish credit ratings for the Company. Credit ratings are indicators of a debt issuer's ability to meet the terms of debt obligations in a timely manner. These ratings are important to the Company's overall ability to access certain types of liquidity. Downgrades of the Company's credit ratings, or an announced potential downgrade, could have a material adverse affect on the Company's financial conditions and results of operations in many ways, including the following: limiting the Company's access to capital markets; increasing the cost of debt; impairing its ability to raise capital to refinance maturing debt obligations; limiting its capacity to support growth of its insurance subsidiaries; and making it more difficult to maintain or improve the current financial strength ratings of its insurance subsidiaries. A downgrade of sufficient magnitude, in combination with other factors, could require the Company to post collateral pursuant to certain contractual obligations.

        Rating organizations assign ratings based upon several factors. While most of the factors relate to the rated company, some of the factors relate to the views of the rating organization, general economic conditions, and circumstances outside the rated company's control. In addition, rating organizations use various models and formulas to assess the strength of a rated company, and from time to time rating organizations have, in their discretion, altered the models. Changes to the models could impact the rating organizations' judgment of the rating to be assigned to the rated company. The Company cannot predict what actions the rating organizations may take, or what actions the Company may take in response to the actions of the rating organizations, which could adversely affect the Company.

The Company's policy claims fluctuate from period to period, resulting in earnings volatility.

        The Company's results may fluctuate from period to period due to fluctuations in policy claims received by the Company. Certain of the Company's businesses may experience higher claims if the economy is growing slowly or in recession, or equity markets decline. Additionally, beginning in the third quarter of 2005, the Company increased its retained amounts on newly written traditional life products. This change will cause greater variability in financial results due to fluctuations in mortality results.

22

Table of Contents

The Company's results and financial condition may be negatively affected should actual experience differ from management's assumptions and estimates.

        In the conduct of business, the Company makes certain assumptions regarding the mortality, persistency, expenses and interest rates, tax liability, business mix, frequency of claims, contingent liabilities, investment performance, or other factors appropriate to the type of business it expects to experience in future periods. These assumptions are also used to estimate the amounts of deferred policy acquisition costs, policy liabilities and accruals, future earnings, and various components of the Company's balance sheet. These assumptions are used in the operations of the Company's business in making decisions crucial to the success of the Company, including the pricing of products and expense structures relating to products. The Company's actual experiences, as well as changes in estimates, are used to prepare the Company's statements of income. To the extent the Company's actual experience and changes in estimates differ from original estimates, the Company's financial condition is affected.

        Mortality, morbidity, and casualty expectations incorporate assumptions about many factors, including for example, how a product is distributed, for what purpose the product is purchased, the mix of customers purchasing the products, persistency and lapses, future progress in the fields of health and medicine, and the projected level of used vehicle values. Actual mortality, morbidity, and/or casualty experience will differ from expectations if actual results differ from those assumptions. In addition, continued activity in the viatical, stranger-owned, and/or life settlement industry could cause the Company's level of lapses to differ from its assumptions about persistency and lapses, which could negatively impact the Company's performance.

        The calculations the Company uses to estimate various components of its balance sheet and statements of income are necessarily complex and involve analyzing and interpreting large quantities of data. The Company currently employs various techniques for such calculations and it from time to time will develop and implement more sophisticated administrative systems and procedures capable of facilitating the calculation of more precise estimates.

        Assumptions and estimates involve judgment, and by their nature are imprecise and subject to changes and revisions over time. Accordingly, the Company's results may be affected, positively or negatively, from time to time, by actual results differing from assumptions, by changes in estimates, and by changes resulting from implementing more sophisticated administrative systems and procedures that facilitate the calculation of more precise estimates.

The Company's financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted if the Company's assumptions regarding the fair value and future performance of its investments differ from actual experience.

        The Company makes assumptions regarding the fair value and expected future performance of its investments. Expectations that the Company's investments in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities will continue to perform in accordance with their contractual terms are based on assumptions a market participant would use in determining the current fair value and consider the performance of the underlying assets. It is reasonably possible that the underlying collateral of these investments will perform worse than current market expectations and that such reduced performance may lead to adverse changes in the cash flows on the Company's holdings of these types of securities. This could lead to potential future write-downs within the Company's portfolio of mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. In addition, expectations that the Company's investments in corporate securities and/or debt obligations will continue to perform in accordance with their contractual terms are based on evidence gathered through its normal credit surveillance process. It is possible that issuers of its investments in corporate securities will perform worse than current expectations. Such events may lead the Company to recognize potential future write-downs within its portfolio of corporate securities. It is also possible that such unanticipated events would lead the Company to dispose of those certain holdings and recognize the effects of any market movements in its financial statements.

23

Table of Contents

        As a result of illiquid markets, the Company also makes certain assumptions when utilizing internal models to value certain of its investments. It is possible that actual results will differ from the Company's assumptions. Such events could result in a material change in the value of the Company's investments.

The use of reinsurance introduces variability in the Company's statements of income.

        The timing of premium payments to and receipt of expense allowances from reinsurers may differ from the Company's receipt of customer premium payments and incurrence of expenses. These timing differences introduce variability in certain components of the Company's statements of income and may also introduce variability in the Company's quarterly results.

The Company could be forced to sell investments at a loss to cover policyholder withdrawals.

        Many of the products offered by the Company allow policyholders and contract holders to withdraw their funds under defined circumstances. The Company manages its liabilities and configures its investment portfolios so as to provide and maintain sufficient liquidity to support expected withdrawal demands and contract benefits and maturities. While the Company owns a significant amount of liquid assets, a certain portion of its assets are relatively illiquid. If the Company experiences unexpected withdrawal or surrender activity, it could exhaust its liquid assets and be forced to liquidate other assets, perhaps at a loss or on other unfavorable terms. If the Company's forced to dispose of assets at a loss or on unfavorable terms, it could have an adverse effect on the Company's financial condition. The degree of the adverse effect could vary in relation to the magnitude of the unexpected surrender or withdrawal activity.

Interest rate fluctuations could negatively affect the Company's interest earnings and spread income, or otherwise impact its business.

        Significant changes in interest rates expose insurance companies to the risk of not earning anticipated interest earnings on products without significant account balances, or anticipated spreads between the interest rate earned on investments and the credited interest rates paid on outstanding policies and contracts that have significant account balances. Both rising and declining interest rates can negatively affect the Company's interest earnings and spread income. While the Company develops and maintains asset/liability management programs and procedures designed to mitigate the effect on interest earnings and spread income in rising or falling interest rate environments, no assurance can be given that changes in interest rates will not affect such amounts.

        From time to time, the Company has participated in securities repurchase transactions that have contributed to the Company's investment income. No assurance can be given that such transactions will continue to be entered into and contribute to the Company's investment income in the future.

        Changes in interest rates may also impact its business in other ways. Lower interest rates may result in lower sales of certain of the Company's insurance and investment products. Certain of the Company's insurance and investment products guarantee a minimum credited interest rate, and the Company could become unable to earn its spread income should interest rates decrease significantly. The Company's expectation for future interest earnings and spreads is an important component in amortization of deferred acquisition costs ("DAC") and value of business acquired ("VOBA") and significantly lowers interest earnings or spreads that may cause it to accelerate amortization, thereby reducing net income in the affected reporting period. Additionally, during periods of declining interest rates, life insurance and annuity products may be relatively more attractive investments to consumers, resulting in increased premium payments on products with flexible premium features, repayment of policy loans and increased persistency, or a higher percentage of insurance policies remaining in force from year to year during a period when the Company's investments carry lower returns.

        Higher interest rates may create a less favorable environment for the origination of mortgage loans and decrease the investment income the Company receives in the form of prepayment fees, make-whole

24

Table of Contents

payments, and mortgage participation income. Higher interest rates may also increase the cost of debt and other obligations having floating rate or rate reset provisions and may result in lower sales of variable products. During periods of increasing market interest rates, the Company may offer higher crediting rates on interest-sensitive products, such as universal life insurance and fixed annuities, and it may increase crediting rates on in-force products to keep these products competitive. In addition, rapidly rising interest rates may cause increased policy surrenders, withdrawals from life insurance policies and annuity contracts, and requests for policy loans as policyholders and contractholders shift assets into higher yielding investments. Increases in crediting rates, as well as surrenders and withdrawals, could have an adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

        Additionally, the Company's asset/liability management programs and procedures incorporate assumptions about the relationship between short-term and long-term interest rates (i.e., the slope of the yield curve) and relationships between risk-adjusted and risk-free interest rates, market liquidity, and other factors. The effectiveness of the Company's asset/liability management programs and procedures may be negatively affected whenever actual results differ from these assumptions.

        In general, the Company's results are improved when the yield curve is positively sloped (i.e., when long-term interest rates are higher than short-term interest rates), and will be adversely affected by a flat or negatively sloped curve.

Equity market volatility could negatively impact the Company's business.

        Volatility in equity markets may discourage purchasers of variable separate account products, such as variable annuities, that have returns linked to the performance of equity markets and may cause some existing customers to withdraw cash values or reduce investments in those products. The amount of policy fees received from variable products is affected by the performance of the equity markets, increasing or decreasing as markets rise or fall.

        Equity market volatility can also affect the profitability of variable products in other ways, in particular as a result of death benefit and withdrawal benefit guarantees in these products. The estimated cost of providing guaranteed minimum death benefits and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits incorporates various assumptions about the overall performance of equity markets over certain time periods. Periods of significant and sustained downturns in equity markets, increased equity volatility, or reduced interest rates could result in an increase in the valuation of the future policy benefit or policyholder account balance liabilities associated with such products, resulting in a reduction to net income.

        The amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs relating to variable products and the estimated cost of providing guaranteed minimum death benefits and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits incorporates various assumptions about the overall performance of equity markets over certain time periods. The rate of amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs and the cost of providing guaranteed minimum death benefits and guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits could increase if equity market performance is worse than assumed.

Insurance companies are highly regulated and subject to numerous legal restrictions and regulations.

        The Company and its subsidiaries are subject to government regulation in each of the states in which they conduct business. Such regulation is vested in state agencies having broad administrative and in some instances discretionary power dealing with many aspects of the Company's business, which may include, among other things, premium rates and increases thereto, underwriting practices, reserve requirements, marketing practices, advertising, privacy, policy forms, reinsurance reserve requirements, acquisitions, mergers, and capital adequacy, and is concerned primarily with the protection of policyholders and other customers rather than shareowners. At any given time, a number of financial and/or market conduct examinations of the Company's subsidiaries may be ongoing. From time to time, regulators raise issues during examinations or audits of the Company's subsidiaries that could, if determined adverse, have a

25

Table of Contents

material impact on the Company. The Company's insurance subsidiaries are required to obtain state regulatory approval for rate increases for certain health insurance products, and the Company's profits may be adversely affected if the requested rate increases are not approved in full by regulators in a timely fashion.

        Under insurance guaranty fund laws in most states, insurance companies doing business therein can be assessed up to prescribed limits for policyholder losses incurred by insolvent companies. The Company cannot predict the amount or timing of any future assessments.

        The purchase of life insurance products is limited by state insurable interest laws, which in most jurisdictions require that the purchaser of life insurance name a beneficiary that has some interest in the sustained life of the insured. To some extent, the insurable interest laws present a barrier to the life settlement, or "stranger-owned" industry, in which a financial entity acquires an interest in life insurance proceeds, and efforts have been made in some states to liberalize the insurable interest laws. To the extent these laws are relaxed, the Company's lapse assumptions may prove to be incorrect.

        Although the Company and its subsidiaries are subject to state regulation, in many instances the state regulatory models emanate from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners ("NAIC"). State insurance regulators and the NAIC regularly re-examine existing laws and regulations applicable to insurance companies and their products. Changes in these laws and regulations, or in interpretations thereof, are often made for the benefit of the consumer and at the expense of the insurer and, thus, could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations. The Company is also subject to the risk that compliance with any particular regulator's interpretation of a legal or accounting issue may not result in compliance with another regulator's interpretation of the same issue, particularly when compliance is judged in hindsight. There is an additional risk that any particular regulator's interpretation of a legal or accounting issue may change over time to the Company's detriment, or that changes to the overall legal or market environment, even absent any change of interpretation by a particular regulator, may cause the Company to change its views regarding the actions it needs to take from a legal risk management perspective, which could necessitate changes to the Company's practices that may, in some cases, limit its ability to grow and improve profitability.

        Some of the NAIC pronouncements, particularly as they affect accounting issues, take effect automatically in the various states without affirmative action by the states. Statutes, regulations, and interpretations may be applied with retroactive impact, particularly in areas such as accounting and reserve requirements. Also, regulatory actions with prospective impact can potentially have a significant impact on currently sold products. As an example of both retroactive and prospective impacts, in late 2005, the NAIC approved an amendment to Actuarial Guideline 38 ("AG38"), commonly known as AXXX, which interprets the reserve requirements for universal life insurance with secondary guarantees. This amendment retroactively increased the reserve requirements for universal life insurance with secondary guarantee products issued after July 1, 2005. This change to AG38 also affected the profitability of universal life products sold after the adoption date. The NAIC is continuing to study reserving methodology and has issued additional changes to AXXX and Regulation XXX, which have had the effect of modestly decreasing the reserves required for certain traditional and universal life policies that were issued on January 1, 2007 and later. In addition, accounting and actuarial groups within the NAIC have studied whether to change the accounting standards that relate to certain reinsurance credits, and if changes were made, whether they should be applied retrospectively, prospectively only, or in a phased-in manner. A requirement to reduce the reserve credits on ceded business, if applied retroactively, would have a negative impact on the statutory capital of the Company. The NAIC continues to work to reform state regulation in various areas, including comprehensive reforms relating to life insurance reserves.

        At the federal level, bills are routinely introduced in both chambers of the United States Congress which could affect life insurers. In the past, Congress has considered legislation that would impact insurance companies in numerous ways, such as providing for an optional federal charter or federal

26

Table of Contents

presence for insurance, pre-empting state law in certain respects regarding the regulation of reinsurance, increasing federal oversight in areas such as consumer protection and solvency regulation, and other matters. The Company cannot predict whether or in what form reforms will be enacted and, if so, whether the enacted reforms will positively or negatively affect the Company or whether any effects will be material.

        In 2009, the Obama Administration released a set of proposed reforms with respect to financial services entities. As part of a larger effort to strengthen the regulation of the financial services market, the proposal outlines certain reforms applicable to the insurance industry. Although no legislation has been enacted or regulations promulgated with respect to the proposal, there is currently legislation pending before Congress which would require changes to law or regulation applicable to the Company, including but not limited to: the establishment of federal regulatory authority over derivatives, the establishment of consolidated federal regulation and resolution authority over systemically important financial services firms, changes to the regulation of broker dealers and investment advisors, and the imposition of additional regulation over credit rating agencies. Any additional legislation or regulatory requirements applicable to the Company or those entities with which it does business promulgated in connection with the proposal may make it more expensive for the Company to conduct its business and subject the Company to an additional layer of regulatory oversight. Such actions by Congress could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations.

        The proposal as well as legislation pending before Congress also calls for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency ("CFPA") with jurisdiction over credit, savings, payment, and other consumer financial products and services, other than investment products already regulated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Certain of the Company's subsidiaries sell products that could be regulated by the CFPA. Any such regulation by the CFPA could make it more difficult or costly for the Company's subsidiaries to sell certain products and have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations.

        The Company's subsidiaries may also be subject to regulation by the United States Department of Labor when providing a variety of products and services to employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Severe penalties are imposed for breach of duties under ERISA.

        Certain policies, contracts, and annuities offered by the Company's subsidiaries are subject to regulation under the federal securities laws administered by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The federal securities laws contain regulatory restrictions and criminal, administrative, and private remedial provisions.

        Other types of regulation that could affect the Company and its subsidiaries include insurance company investment laws and regulations, state statutory accounting practices, anti-trust laws, minimum solvency requirements, state securities laws, federal privacy laws, insurable interest laws, federal anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws, and because the Company owns and operates real property, state, federal, and local environmental laws. The Company cannot predict what form any future changes in these or other areas of regulation affecting the insurance industry might take or what effect, if any, such proposals might have on the Company if enacted into law.

Changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law could adversely affect the Company and its ability to compete with non-insurance products or reduce the demand for certain insurance products.

        Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), income tax payable by policyholders on investment earnings is deferred during the accumulation period of certain life insurance and annuity products. This favorable tax treatment may give certain of the Company's products a competitive advantage over other non-insurance products. To the extent that the Code is revised to reduce the tax-deferred status of life insurance and annuity products, or to increase the tax-deferred status of

27

Table of Contents

competing products, all life insurance companies, including the Company's subsidiaries, would be adversely affected with respect to their ability to sell such products, and, depending upon grandfathering provisions, would be affected by the surrenders of existing annuity contracts and life insurance policies. For example, changes in laws or regulations could restrict or eliminate the advantages of certain corporate or bank-owned life insurance products. Changes in tax law, which have reduced the federal income tax rates on corporate dividends in certain circumstances, could make the tax advantages of investing in certain life insurance or annuity products less attractive. Additionally, changes in tax law based on proposals to establish new tax advantaged retirement and life savings plans, if enacted, could reduce the tax advantage of investing in certain life insurance or annuity products. In addition, life insurance products are often used to fund estate tax obligations. Legislation has been enacted that reduces and eventually eliminates the federal estate tax. Under the legislation that has been enacted, the estate tax will be reinstated, in its entirety, in 2011 and thereafter. Members of Congress have expressed a desire to modify the existing legislation, which this modification could result in a faster or more complete reduction or repeal of the estate tax. If the estate tax is significantly reduced or eliminated, the demand for certain life insurance products could be adversely affected. Additionally, the Company is subject to the federal corporation income tax. The Company cannot predict what changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law may ultimately be enacted or adopted or whether such changes could adversely affect the Company.

        The Company's move away from relying on reinsurance for newly written traditional life products results in a net reduction of current taxes (but an increase in deferred taxes). The resulting benefit of reduced current taxes is attributed to the applicable life products and is an important component of the profitability of these products. The profitability and competitive position of these products is dependent on the continuation of current tax law and the ability to generate taxable income.

The Company may be required to establish a valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets, which could materially adversely affect the Company's results of operations, financial condition, and capital position.

        Deferred tax assets refer to assets that are attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets in essence represent future savings of taxes that would otherwise be paid in cash. The realization of the deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of sufficient future taxable income, including capital gains. If it is determined that the deferred tax assets cannot be realized, a deferred tax valuation allowance must be established, with a corresponding charge to net income.

        Based on the Company's current assessment of future taxable income, including available tax planning opportunities, the Company anticipates that it is more likely than not that it will generate sufficient taxable income to realize its material deferred tax assets. If future events differ from the Company's current forecasts, a valuation allowance may need to be established, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's results of operations, financial condition, and capital position.

Financial services companies are frequently the targets of litigation, including class action litigation, which could result in substantial judgments.

        A number of civil jury verdicts have been returned against insurers, broker-dealers, and other providers of financial services involving sales, underwriting practices, product design, product disclosure, administration, denial or delay of benefits, charging excessive or impermissible fees, recommending unsuitable products to customers, breaching fiduciary or other duties to customers, refund or claims practices, alleged agent misconduct, failure to properly supervise representatives, relationships with agents or other persons with whom the insurer does business, payment of sales or other contingent commissions, and other matters. Often these lawsuits have resulted in the award of substantial judgments that are disproportionate to the actual damages, including material amounts of punitive non-economic compensatory damages. In some states, juries, judges, and arbitrators have substantial discretion in awarding punitive and non-economic compensatory damages, which creates the potential for unpredictable

28

Table of Contents

material adverse judgments or awards in any given lawsuit or arbitration. Arbitration awards are subject to very limited appellate review. In addition, in some class action and other lawsuits, companies have made material settlement payments.

        Group health coverage issued through associations and credit insurance coverages have received some negative publicity in the media as well as increased regulatory consideration and review and litigation. The Company has a small closed block of group health insurance coverage that was issued to members of an association; a purported class action lawsuit is currently pending against the Company in connection with this business.

        In connection with the Company's discontinued Lender's Indemnity product, it has discovered facts and circumstances that support allegations against third parties (including policyholders and the administrator of the associated loan program), and it has instituted litigation to establish the rights and liabilities of various parties. A counterclaim in the litigation and separate related lawsuits has been filed by various parties seeking to assert liability against the Company for various matters. Claims that have been asserted against the Company in this litigation include alleged contractual claims, bad faith, claims with respect to policies for which premiums were not received by the Company, and recoupment based on a fraudulent transfer theory; with the exception of one remaining party, the litigation has been resolved and the Company continues to vigorously defend the remaining claim. Although the Company cannot predict the outcome of any litigation, it does not believe that the outcome of these matters will have a material impact on the Company's financial condition or results of operations.

        The Company, like other financial services companies in the ordinary course of business, is involved in litigation and arbitration. Although the Company cannot predict the outcome of any litigation or arbitration, the Company does not believe that any such outcome will have a material impact on the financial condition or results of operations of the Company.

Publicly held companies in general and the financial services industry in particular are sometimes the target of law enforcement investigations and the focus of increased regulatory scrutiny.

        Publicly held companies in general and the financial services and insurance industries in particular are sometimes the target of law enforcement and regulatory investigations relating to the numerous laws and regulations that govern such companies. Some companies have been the subject of law enforcement or other actions resulting from such investigations. Resulting publicity about one company may generate inquiries into or litigation against other publicly held companies and/or financial service providers, even those who do not engage in the business lines or practices at issue in the original action. It is impossible to predict the outcome of such investigations or actions, whether they will expand into other areas not yet contemplated, whether they will result in changes in insurance regulation, whether activities currently thought to be lawful will be characterized as unlawful, or the impact, if any, of such scrutiny on the financial services and insurance industry or the Company. From time to time, the Company receives subpoenas, requests, or other inquires and responds to them in the ordinary course of business.

The Company's ability to maintain competitive unit costs is dependent upon the level of new sales and persistency of existing business.

        The Company's ability to maintain competitive unit costs is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the level of new sales, persistency (continuation or renewal) of existing business, and expense management. A decrease in sales or persistency without a corresponding reduction in expenses may result in higher unit costs.

29

Table of Contents

        Additionally, a decrease in persistency may result in higher or more rapid amortization of deferred policy acquisition costs and thus higher unit costs, and lower reported earnings. Although many of the Company's products contain surrender charges, the charges decrease over time and may not be sufficient to cover the unamortized deferred policy acquisition costs with respect to the insurance policy or annuity contract being surrendered. Some of the Company's products do not contain surrender charge features and such products can be surrendered or exchanged without penalty. A decrease in persistency may also result in higher claims.

The Company's investments are subject to market, credit, legal, and regulatory risks. These risks could be heightened during periods of extreme volatility or disruption in financial and credit markets.

        The Company's invested assets and derivative financial instruments are subject to customary risks of credit defaults and changes in market values. These risks could be heightened during periods of extreme volatility or disruption in the financial and credit markets. A widening of credit spreads will increase the unrealized losses in the Company's investment portfolio. The factors affecting the financial and credit markets could lead to other-than-temporary impairments of assets in the Company's investment portfolio.

        The value of the Company's commercial mortgage loan portfolio depends in part on the financial condition of the tenants occupying the properties that the Company has financed. Factors that may affect the overall default rate on, and market value of, the Company's invested assets, derivative financial instruments, and mortgage loans include interest rate levels, financial market performance, and general economic conditions as well as particular circumstances affecting the businesses of individual borrowers and tenants.

        Significant continued financial and credit market volatility, changes in interest rates, credit spreads, credit defaults, real estate values, market illiquidity, declines in equity prices, acts of corporate malfeasance, ratings downgrades of the issuers or guarantors of these investments, and declines in general economic conditions, either alone or in combination, could have a material adverse impact on the Company's results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows through realized losses, impairments, changes in unrealized loss positions, and increased demands on capital. In addition, market volatility can make it difficult for the Company to value certain of its assets, especially if trading becomes less frequent. Valuations may include assumptions or estimates that may have significant period-to-period changes that could have an adverse impact on the Company's results of operations or financial condition.

        In addition, there are currently several proposals being considered by Congress and various agencies that would facilitate or require servicers of residential mortgage-backed securities ("RMBS") to modify the principal amount of, and/or restructure the amounts payable pursuant to, the residential mortgage loans underlying such securities. Similarly, there are currently several proposals being considered by Congress, including Senate Bill 61, which would grant a bankruptcy court the ability to modify or restructure the payments owing on mortgage loans, which loan modifications could result in a discharge of underlying principal amounts. To the extent a principal loss is imposed by a bankruptcy court (a so-called "cramdown"), under some RMBS structures, the loss would be allocated among the various tranches differently than would a loss resulting from foreclosure, and thus under some RMBS structures could have a disproportionate effect on the higher rated tranches. The Company is unable to predict whether such proposals will be approved and, if so, what specific impact such proposals would have on its fixed income investment portfolio. However, a reduction in the principal amount of the mortgage loans securing a RMBS in the Company's portfolio could result in, among other things, a ratings downgrade of the individual RMBS, a reduction in the market value of the RMBS, and/or accelerated loss of principal on the RMBS. The occurrence of these events could have a material adverse impact on the Company's capital position for regulatory and other purposes, its business, and its results of operations.

30

Table of Contents

The Company may not realize its anticipated financial results from its acquisitions strategy.

        The Company's acquisitions have increased its earnings in part by allowing the Company to enter new markets and to position itself to realize certain operating efficiencies. There can be no assurance, however, that suitable acquisitions presenting opportunities for continued growth and operating efficiencies, or capital to fund acquisitions, will continue to be available to the Company, or that the Company will realize the anticipated financial results from its acquisitions.

        The Company may be unable to complete an acquisition, or completion of an acquisition may be more costly or take longer than expected or may have a different financing structure than initially contemplated. Moreover, the financial distress experienced by certain financial services industry participants as a result of recent economic conditions may lead to favorable acquisition opportunities, although the Company's ability to pursue such opportunities may be limited due to lower earnings, reserve increases, and a lack of access to sources of financing.

        The Company may be unable to obtain regulatory approvals that may be required to complete an acquisition. There may be unforeseen liabilities that arise in connection with businesses that the Company acquires. Additionally, in connection with its acquisitions, the Company assumes, or otherwise becomes responsible for, the obligations of policies and other liabilities of other insurers. Any regulatory, legal, financial, or other adverse development affecting the other insurer could also have an adverse effect on the Company.

The Company is dependent on the performance of others.

        The Company's results may be affected by the performance of others because the Company has entered into various arrangements involving other parties. For example, most of the Company's products are sold through independent distribution channels, variable annuity deposits are invested in funds managed by third parties, and certain modified coinsurance assets are managed by third parties. Also, a substantial portion of the Chase Insurance Group acquisition business is being administered by third-party administrators. Additionally, the Company's operations are dependent on various technologies, some of which are provided and/or maintained by other parties. Any of the other parties upon which the Company depends may default on their obligations to the Company due to bankruptcy, insolvency, lack of liquidity, adverse economic conditions, operational failure, fraud, or other reasons. Such defaults could have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition, and results of operations.

        Certain of these other parties may act on behalf of the Company or represent the Company in various capacities. Consequently, the Company may be held responsible for obligations that arise from the acts or omissions of these other parties.

        As with all financial services companies, the Company's ability to conduct business is dependent upon consumer confidence in the industry and its products. Actions of competitors and financial difficulties of other companies in the industry could undermine consumer confidence and adversely affect retention of existing business and future sales of the Company's insurance and investment products.

The Company's reinsurers could fail to meet assumed obligations, increase rates or be subject to adverse developments that could affect the Company.

        The Company and its insurance subsidiaries cede material amounts of insurance and transfer related assets to other insurance companies through reinsurance. The Company may enter into third-party reinsurance arrangements under which it will rely on the third party to collect premiums, pay claims, and/or perform customer service functions. However, notwithstanding the transfer of related assets or other issues, the Company remains liable with respect to ceded insurance should any reinsurer fail to meet the obligations assumed. Therefore, the failure, insolvency, or inability or unwillingness to pay under the

31

Table of Contents

terms of the reinsurance agreement with the Company of one or more of the Company's reinsurers could negatively impact the Company's earnings and financial position.

        The Company's ability to compete is dependent on the availability of reinsurance or other substitute financing solutions. Premium rates charged by the Company are based, in part, on the assumption that reinsurance will be available at a certain cost. Under certain reinsurance agreements, the reinsurer may increase the rate it charges the Company for the reinsurance. Therefore, if the cost of reinsurance were to increase, if reinsurance were to become unavailable, if alternatives to reinsurance were not available to the Company, or if a reinsurer should fail to meet its obligations, the Company could be adversely affected.

        Recently, access to reinsurance has become more costly for the Company as well as the insurance industry in general. This could have a negative effect on the Company's ability to compete. In recent years, the number of life reinsurers has decreased as the reinsurance industry has consolidated. The decreased number of participants in the life reinsurance market results in increased concentration of risk for insurers, including the Company. If the reinsurance market further contracts, the Company's ability to continue to offer its products on terms favorable to it could be adversely impacted.

        In addition, reinsurers are facing many challenges regarding illiquid credit and/or capital markets, investment downgrades, rating agency downgrades, deterioration of general economic conditions, and other factors negatively impacting the financial services industry. If such events cause a reinsurer to fail to meet its obligations, the Company would be adversely impacted.

        The Company has implemented, and plans to continue to expand, a reinsurance program through the use of captive reinsurers. Under these arrangements, an insurer owned by the Company serves as the reinsurer, and the consolidated books and tax returns of the Company reflects a liability consisting of the full reserve amount attributable to the reinsured business. The success of the Company's captive reinsurance program and related marketing efforts is dependent on a number of factors outside the control of the Company, including continued access to financial solutions, a favorable regulatory environment, and the overall tax position of the Company. If the captive reinsurance program is not successful, the Company's ability to continue to offer its products on terms favorable to it would be adversely impacted.

The occurrence of computer viruses, network security breaches, disasters, or other unanticipated events could affect the data processing systems of the Company or its business partners and could damage the Company's business and adversely affect its financial condition and results of operations.

        A computer virus could affect the data processing systems of the Company or its business partners, destroying valuable data or making it difficult to conduct business. In addition, despite the Company's implementation of network security measures, its servers could be subject to physical and electronic break-ins, and similar disruptions from unauthorized tampering with its computer systems.

        The Company retains confidential information in its computer systems, and relies on sophisticated commercial technologies to maintain the security of those systems. Anyone who is able to circumvent the Company's security measures and penetrate the Company's computer systems could access, view, misappropriate, alter, or delete any information in the systems, including personally identifiable customer information and proprietary business information. In addition, an increasing number of states require that customers be notified of unauthorized access, use, or disclosure of their information. Any compromise of the security of the Company's computer systems that results in inappropriate access, use, or disclosure of personally identifiable customer information could damage the Company's reputation in the marketplace, deter people from purchasing the Company's products, subject the Company to significant civil and criminal liability, and require the Company to incur significant technical, legal, and other expenses.

        In the event of a disaster such as a natural catastrophe, an industrial accident, a blackout, or a terrorist attack or war, the Company's computer systems may be inaccessible to its employees, customers, or business partners for an extended period of time. Even if the Company's employees are able to report to

32

Table of Contents

work, they may be unable to perform their duties for an extended period of time if the Company's data or systems are disabled or destroyed.

The Company's ability to grow depends in large part upon the continued availability of capital.

        The Company deploys significant amounts of capital to support its sales and acquisitions efforts. An amendment to Actuarial Guideline 38 increased the reserve requirements for universal life insurance with secondary guarantees for products issued after July 1, 2005. This amendment, along with the continued reserve requirements of Regulation XXX for traditional life insurance products, has caused the sale of these products to consume additional capital. The Company's future marketing plans are dependent on its ability to access financing solutions. Disruption of the credit markets, or the Company's inability to access capital, could have a negative impact on the Company's ability to grow. Although the Company believes it has sufficient capital to fund its immediate capital needs, the amount of capital available can vary significantly from period to period due to a variety of circumstances, some of which are not predictable, foreseeable, or within the Company's control. A lack of sufficient capital could have a material adverse impact on the Company's financial position and results of operations.

New accounting rules, changes to existing accounting rules, or the grant of permitted accounting practices to competitors could negatively impact the Company.

        Like all publicly traded companies, the Company is required to comply with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States ("GAAP"). A number of organizations are instrumental in the development and interpretation of GAAP such as the SEC, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB"), and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("AICPA"). GAAP is subject to constant review by these organizations and others in an effort to address emerging accounting rules and issue interpretative accounting guidance on a continual basis. The Company can give no assurance that future changes to GAAP will not have a negative impact on the Company. GAAP includes the requirement to carry certain investments and insurance liabilities at fair value. These fair values are sensitive to various factors including, but not limited to, interest rate movements, credit spreads, and various other factors. Because of this, changes in these fair values may cause increased levels of volatility in the Company's financial statements.

        In addition, the Company's insurance subsidiaries are required to comply with statutory accounting principles ("SAP"). SAP and various components of SAP (such as actuarial reserving methodology) are subject to constant review by the NAIC and its task forces and committees as well as state insurance departments in an effort to address emerging issues and otherwise improve or alter financial reporting. Various proposals either are currently or have previously been pending before committees and task forces of the NAIC, some of which, if enacted, would negatively affect the Company, including one that relates to certain reinsurance credits, and some of which could positively impact the Company. The NAIC is also currently working to reform state regulation in various areas, including comprehensive reforms relating to life insurance reserves and the accounting for such reserves. The Company cannot predict whether or in what form reforms will be enacted and, if so, whether the enacted reforms will positively or negatively affect the Company. In addition, the NAIC Accounting Practices and Procedures manual provides that state insurance departments may permit insurance companies domiciled therein to depart from SAP by granting them permitted accounting practices. The Company cannot predict whether or when the insurance departments of the states of domicile of its competitors may permit them to utilize advantageous accounting practices that depart from SAP, the use of which is not permitted by the insurance departments of the states of domicile of the Company's insurance subsidiaries. With respect to regulations and guidelines, states sometimes defer to the interpretation of the insurance department of the state of domicile. Neither the action of the domiciliary state nor action of the NAIC is binding on a state. Accordingly, a state could choose to follow a different interpretation. The Company can give no assurance

33

Table of Contents

that future changes to SAP or components of SAP or the grant of permitted accounting practices to its competitors will not have a negative impact on the Company.

The Company's risk management policies and procedures could leave it exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our business or result in losses.

        The Company has developed risk management policies and procedures and expects to continue to enhance these in the future. Nonetheless, the Company's policies and procedures to identify, monitor, and manage both internal and external risks may not predict future exposures, which could be different or significantly greater than expected.

        These identified risks may not be the only risks facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and/or operating results.

Credit market volatility or disruption could adversely impact the Company's financial condition or results from operations.

        Significant volatility or disruption in credit markets could have an adverse impact in several ways on either the Company's financial condition or results from operations. Changes in interest rates and credit spreads could cause market price and cash flow variability in the fixed income instruments in the Company's investment portfolio. Significant volatility and lack of liquidity in the credit markets could cause issuers of the fixed-income securities in the Company's investment portfolio to default on either principal or interest payments on these securities. Additionally, market price valuations may not accurately reflect the underlying expected cash flows of securities within the Company's investment portfolio.

        The Company's statutory surplus is also impacted by widening credit spreads as a result of the accounting for the assets and liabilities on its fixed market value adjusted ("MVA") annuities. Statutory separate account assets supporting the fixed MVA annuities are recorded at fair value. In determining the statutory reserve for the fixed MVA annuities, the Company is required to use current crediting rates based on U.S. Treasuries. In many capital market scenarios, current crediting rates based on U.S. Treasuries are highly correlated with market rates implicit in the fair value of statutory separate account assets. As a result, the change in the statutory reserve from period to period will likely substantially offset the change in the fair value of the statutory separate account assets. However, in periods of volatile credit markets, actual credit spreads on investment assets may increase sharply for certain sub-sectors of the overall credit market, resulting in statutory separate account asset market value losses. Credit spreads are not consistently fully reflected in crediting rates based on U.S. Treasuries, and the calculation of statutory reserves will not substantially offset the change in fair value of the statutory separate account assets resulting in reductions in statutory surplus. This situation would result in the need to devote significant additional capital to support fixed MVA annuity products.

        Volatility or disruption in the credit markets could also impact the Company's ability to efficiently access financial solutions for purposes of issuing long-term debt for financing purposes, its ability to obtain financial solutions for purposes of supporting certain traditional and universal life insurance products for capital management purposes, or result in an increase in the cost of existing securitization structures.

        The ability of the Company to implement financing solutions designed to fund a portion of statutory reserves on both the traditional and universal life blocks of business is dependent upon factors such as the ratings of the Company, the size of the blocks of business affected, the mortality experience of the Company, the credit markets, and other factors. The Company cannot predict the continued availability of such solutions or the form that the market may dictate. To the extent that such financing solutions are not available, the Company's financial position could be adversely affected through impacts including, but not limited to, higher borrowing costs, surplus strain, lower sales capacity, and possible reduced earnings expectations.

34

Table of Contents

Disruption of the capital and credit markets could negatively affect the Company's ability to meet its liquidity and financing needs.

        The Company needs liquidity to meet its obligations to its policyholders and its debt holders, and to pay its operating expenses. The Company's sources of liquidity include insurance premiums, annuity considerations, deposit funds, cash flow from investments and assets, and other income from its operations. In normal credit and capital market conditions, the Company's sources of liquidity also include a variety of short and long-term borrowing arrangements, including issuing debt securities, as well as raising capital by issuing a variety of equity securities.

        The Company's business is dependent on the capital and credit markets, including confidence in such markets. When the credit and capital markets are disrupted and confidence is eroded the Company may not be able to borrow or raise equity capital, or the cost of borrowing or raising equity capital may be prohibitively high. If the Company's internal sources of liquidity are inadequate during such periods, the Company could suffer negative effects from not being able to borrow or raise capital, or from having to do so on unfavorable terms. The negative effects could include being forced to sell assets at a loss, a lowering of the Company's credit ratings and the financial strength ratings of its insurance subsidiaries, and the possibility that customers, lenders, shareholders, ratings agencies, or regulators develop a negative perception of the Company's financial prospects, which could lead to further adverse effects on the Company.

Difficult conditions in the economy generally could adversely affect the Company's business and results from operations.

        A general economic slowdown could adversely affect the Company in the form of consumer behavior and pressure on the Company's investment portfolios. Consumer behavior could include decreased demand for the Company's products and elevated levels of policy lapses, policy loans, withdrawals, and surrenders. The Company's investment and mortgage loan portfolios could be adversely affected as a result of deteriorating financial and business conditions affecting the issuers of the securities in the Company's investment portfolio and the Company's commercial mortgage loan borrowers and their tenants.

Deterioration of general economic conditions could result in a severe and extended economic recession, which could materially adversely affect the Company's business and results of operations.

        On December 1, 2008, the National Bureau of Economic Research officially declared that the United States economy has been in a recession since December of 2007. The U.S. Department of Labor announced in December of 2009 that the number of unemployed persons has increased by 7.6 million, or 5%, since the recession began. While economic indicators have fluctuated throughout 2009, continued concerns over a weakened labor market, deficit spending, the value of the U.S. dollar, the availability and cost of credit, and sustained declines in the housing market continue to exert downward pressure on the consumer confidence index.

        Like other financial institutions, and particularly life insurers, the Company has been adversely affected by these conditions. The continued presence of these conditions could have an adverse impact on the Company by, among other things, exerting deep downward pressure on the price of the Company's stock, decreasing demand for its insurance and investment products, and increasing the level of lapses and surrenders of its policies. The Company and its subsidiaries could also experience additional ratings downgrades from ratings agencies, unrealized losses, significant realized losses, impairments in its investment portfolio, and charges incurred as a result of mark-to-market and fair value accounting principles. If the current economic conditions worsen, the Company's ability to access sources of capital and liquidity may be further limited.

        Economic trends may worsen in 2010, thus contributing to increased volatility and diminished expectations for the economy and markets. This could result in a severe and extended economic recession

35

Table of Contents

characterized by protracted declines in business activity and consumer confidence. The Company cannot predict the duration of such a recession or, when the global economy improves, how long it will take to return to historically normal levels. The occurrence of a severe and extended economic recession could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business and results of operations.

There can be no assurance that the actions of the U.S. Government or other governmental and regulatory bodies for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets will achieve their intended effect.

        On February 10, 2009, the U.S. Treasury announced that it was replacing the programs enacted pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 ("EESA") with new programs collectively entitled the Financial Stability Plan. In addition, Congress continues to consider various measures designed to facilitate stabilization and stimulate the financial markets. The Company cannot predict whether these actions will achieve their intended effect nor can it predict the duration of the programs. Additionally, the Company cannot predict whether such actions will place it at a disadvantage relative to its competitors within the financial services industry.

The Company may not be able to protect its intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.

        The Company relies on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent, and trade secret laws to establish and protect its intellectual property. Although the Company uses a broad range of measures to protect its intellectual property rights, third parties may infringe or misappropriate its intellectual property. The Company may have to litigate to enforce and protect its copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and know-how or to determine their scope, validity, or enforceability, which represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. The loss of intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of the Company's intellectual property assets could have a material adverse effect on its business and ability to compete.

        The Company also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges its operations or activities infringe upon that party's intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents that could be infringed by the Company's products, methods, processes, or services. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against the Company. The Company may also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, trade secret, or license usage rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If the Company were found to have infringed a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, it could incur substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to its customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, or licenses, or alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, results of operations, and financial condition.

The Company could be adversely affected by an inability to access its credit facility.

        The Company relies on its credit facility as a potential source of liquidity. The availability of these funds could be critical to the Company's credit and financial strength ratings and its ability to meet obligations, particularly in the current market when alternative sources of credit are either difficult to access or costly. The availability of the Company's credit facility is dependent in part on the ability of the lenders to provide funds under the facility. The Company's credit facility contains various affirmative and negative covenants and events of default, including covenants requiring the Company to maintain a specified minimum consolidated net worth. The Company's right to make borrowings under the facility is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions, including its compliance with all covenants. The Company's failure to comply with the covenants in the credit facility could restrict its ability to access this credit facility when needed. The Company's inability to access some or all of the line or credit under the credit facility could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

36

Table of Contents

The amount of statutory capital that the Company has and the amount of statutory capital that it must hold to maintain its financial strength and credit ratings and meet other requirements can vary significantly from time to time and is sensitive to a number of factors outside of the Company's control.

        The Company primarily conducts business through licensed insurance company subsidiaries. Insurance regulators have established regulations that provide minimum capitalization requirements based on risk-based capital ("RBC") formulas for life and property and casualty companies. The RBC formula for life insurance companies establishes capital requirements relating to insurance, business, asset, interest rate, and certain other risks.

        In any particular year, statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios may increase or decrease depending on a variety of factors; the amount of statutory income or losses generated by the Company's insurance subsidiaries (which itself is sensitive to equity market and credit market conditions), the amount of additional capital its insurance subsidiaries must hold to support business growth, changes in the Company's reserve requirements, the Company's ability to secure capital market solutions to provide reserve relief, changes in equity market levels, the value of certain fixed-income and equity securities in its investment portfolio, the credit ratings of investments held in its portfolio, the value of certain derivative instruments, changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, credit market volatility, changes in consumer behavior, as well as changes to the NAIC RBC formula. Most of these factors are outside of the Company's control. The Company's financial strength and credit ratings are significantly influenced by the statutory surplus amounts and RBC ratios of its insurance company subsidiaries. Rating agencies may implement changes to their internal models that have the effect of increasing or decreasing the amount of statutory capital the Company must hold in order to maintain its current ratings. In addition, rating agencies may downgrade the investments held in the Company's portfolio, which could result in a reduction of the Company's capital and surplus and/or its RBC ratio.

        In extreme scenarios of equity market declines, the amount of additional statutory reserves the Company is required to hold for its variable product guarantees may increase at a rate greater than the rate of change of the markets. Increases in reserves could result in a reduction to the Company's capital, surplus, and/or RBC ratio. Also, in environments where there is not a correlative relationship between interest rates and spreads, the Company's market value adjusted annuity product can have a material adverse effect on the Company's statutory surplus position.

Item 1B.    Unresolved Staff Comments

        None.

Item 2.    Properties

        The Company's home office is located at 2801 Highway 280 South, Birmingham, Alabama. The Company owns two buildings consisting of 310,000 square feet constructed in two phases. Building 1 was constructed in 1974 and Building 2 was constructed in 1982. Additionally, the Company leases a third 310,000 square-foot building constructed in 2004. Parking is provided for approximately 2,594 vehicles.

        The Company leases administrative and marketing office space in 23 cities, including 23,586 square feet in Birmingham (excluding the home office building), with most leases being for periods of three to ten years. The aggregate annualized rent is approximately $7.2 million.

        The Company believes its properties are adequate and suitable for the Company's business as currently conducted and are adequately maintained. The above properties do not include properties the Company owns for investment only.

37

Table of Contents

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

        To the knowledge and in the opinion of management, there are no material pending legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business of the Company, to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or of which any of our properties is the subject. For additional information regarding legal proceedings see Item 1A, Risk Factors and Cautionary Factors that may Affect Future Results included herein.

Item 4.    Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

        No matter was submitted during the fourth quarter of 2009 to a vote of the Company's security holders.

38

Table of Contents

PART II

Item 5.    Market for the Registrant's Common Equity and Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

        The Company's Common Stock is listed and principally traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE symbol: PL). The following table sets forth the highest and lowest closing prices of the Company's Common Stock, $0.50 par value, as reported by the New York Stock Exchange during the periods indicated, along with the dividends paid per share of Common Stock during the same periods.

        On December 31, 2009, there were approximately 1,403 owners of record of the Company's Common Stock.

        The Company (or its predecessor) has paid cash dividends each year since 1926 and each quarter since 1934. The Company expects to continue to pay cash dividends, subject to its earnings and financial condition, regulatory requirements, capital needs, and other relevant factors. The Company's ability to pay cash dividends is dependent in part on cash dividends received by the Company from its life insurance subsidiaries and regulatory requirements. See Item 7, Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, "Liquidity and Capital Resources" included herein. Such subsidiary dividends are restricted by the various insurance laws of the states in which the subsidiaries are incorporated. See Item 1, Business, "Regulation".

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer

        The following table summarizes the Company's repurchases of its common stock:

⁽¹⁾

In May 2004, the Company announced the initiation of its $100 million share repurchase program, which commenced execution on February 12, 2008.

        On May 7, 2007, the Company's Board of Directors extended the Company's previously authorized $100 million share repurchase program. The Company announced on February 12, 2008, that it had commenced execution of this repurchase plan. The current authorization extends through May 6, 2010. Future activity will be dependent upon many factors, including capital levels, rating agency expectations, and the relative attractiveness of alternative uses for capital. There were no shares repurchased during the

39

Table of Contents

year ended December 31, 2009. The remaining capacity, expressed in aggregate value of shares, which may be repurchased under the existing program is approximately $82.9 million.

Item 6.    Selected Financial Data

40

Table of Contents

Item 7.    Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

        The following Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ("MD&A") should be read in conjunction with our consolidated audited financial statements and related notes included herein.

        Certain reclassifications have been made in the previously reported financial statements and accompanying notes to make the prior period amounts comparable to those of the current period. Such reclassifications had no effect on previously reported net income or shareowners' equity.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS—CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE

        This report reviews our financial condition and results of operations including our liquidity and capital resources. Historical information is presented and discussed, and where appropriate, factors that may affect future financial performance are also identified and discussed. Certain statements made in this report include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate, or imply future results, performance, or achievements instead of historical facts and may contain words like "believe," "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "plan," "will," "shall," "may," and other words, phrases, or expressions with similar meaning. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the results contained in the forward-looking statements, and we cannot give assurances that such statements will prove to be correct. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. For more information about the risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could affect our future results, please refer to Item 1A, Risk Factors and Cautionary Factors that may Affect Future Results included herein.

OVERVIEW

Our business

        We are a holding company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with subsidiaries that provide financial services through the production, distribution, and administration of insurance and investment products. Founded in 1907, Protective Life Insurance Company ("PLICO") is our largest operating subsidiary. Unless the context otherwise requires, the "Company," "we," "us," or "our" refers to the consolidated group of Protective Life Corporation and our subsidiaries.

        We have several operating segments, each having a strategic focus. An operating segment is distinguished by products, channels of distribution, and/or other strategic distinctions. We periodically evaluate our operating segments as prescribed in the Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Segment Reporting Topic, and make adjustments to our segment reporting as needed.

        Our operating segments are Life Marketing, Acquisitions, Annuities, Stable Value Products, Asset Protection, and Corporate and Other.

•

Life Marketing—We market level premium term insurance ("traditional"), universal life ("UL"), variable universal life, and bank-owned life insurance ("BOLI") products on a national basis primarily through networks of independent insurance agents and brokers, stockbrokers, and independent marketing organizations.



•

Acquisitions—We focus on acquiring, converting, and servicing policies acquired from other companies. The segment's primary focus is on life insurance policies and annuity products sold to individuals. In the ordinary course of business, the Acquisitions segment regularly considers acquisitions of blocks of policies or smaller insurance companies. The level of the segment's acquisition activity is predicated upon many factors, including available capital, operating capacity,

41

Table of Contents

and market dynamics. Policies acquired through the Acquisition segment are "closed" blocks of business (no new policies are being marketed). Therefore, earnings and account values are expected to decline as the result of lapses, deaths, and other terminations of coverage unless new acquisitions are made.

•

Annuities—We market and support fixed and variable annuity products. These products are primarily sold through broker-dealers, financial institutions, and independent agents and brokers.



•

Stable Value Products—We sell guaranteed funding agreements ("GFAs") to special purpose entities that in turn issue notes or certificates in smaller, transferable denominations. The segment also markets fixed and floating rate funding agreements directly to the trustees of municipal bond proceeds, institutional investors, bank trust departments, and money market funds. Additionally, the segment markets guaranteed investment contracts ("GICs") to 401(k) and other qualified retirement savings plans.



•

Asset Protection—We primarily market extended service contracts and credit life and disability insurance to protect consumers' investments in automobiles, watercraft, and recreational vehicles. In addition, the segment markets a guaranteed asset protection ("GAP") product.



•

Corporate and Other—This segment primarily consists of net investment income (including the impact of carrying excess liquidity), expenses not attributable to the segments above (including net investment income on capital and interest on debt), and a trading portfolio that was previously part of a variable interest entity. This segment also includes earnings from several non-strategic or runoff lines of business (primarily cancer insurance, residual value insurance, surety insurance, and group annuities), various investment-related transactions, and the operations of several small subsidiaries.

Reinsurance Ceded

        For approximately 10 years prior to mid-2005, we entered into reinsurance contracts in which we ceded a significant percentage, generally 90%, of our newly written business on a first dollar quota share basis. Our traditional life insurance was ceded under coinsurance contracts and universal life insurance was ceded under yearly renewable term ("YRT") contracts. During this time, we obtained coinsurance on our traditional life business at favorable rates, while reducing the amount of capital deployed and increasing overall returns. In mid-2005, the Company substantially discontinued coinsuring its newly written traditional life insurance and moved to YRT reinsurance as discussed below. We continue to reinsure 90% of the mortality risk, but not the account values, on our newly written universal life insurance.

        We currently enter into reinsurance contracts with reinsurers under YRT contracts to provide coverage for insurance issued in excess of the amount it retains on any one life. The amount of insurance retained on any one life was $500,000 in years prior to mid-2005. In 2005, this retention was increased to amounts up to $1,000,000 for certain policies, and during 2008, was increased to $2,000,000 for certain policies.

        During recent years, the life reinsurance market continued the process of consolidation and tightening, resulting in a higher net cost of reinsurance for much of our life insurance business. We have also been challenged by changes in the reinsurance market which have impacted management of capital, particularly in our traditional life business which is required to hold reserves pursuant to the Valuation of Life Insurance Policies Model Regulation ("Regulation XXX"). In response to these challenges, in 2005 we reduced our overall reliance on reinsurance by changing from coinsurance to YRT reinsurance arrangements for newly issued traditional life products.

42

Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

        In the face of very difficult economic conditions, we made solid progress on many fronts in 2009 and finished the year on a strong and positive note. In light of the challenges experienced in the economic and market environment during 2009, we strategically positioned ourselves to weather the economic climate by taking actions such as shifting our focus to products that are less capital intensive, implementing pricing initiatives, initiating expense saving initiatives, maintaining a solid distribution network, and reducing sales with less attractive spread levels. Operating earnings were at a record level for 2009. Shareowners' equity at December 31, 2009, reached a record level, and shareowners' equity improved materially from that reported as of December 31, 2008. We were also able to maintain good relationships with distributors, customers, and regulators in this environment.

        In addition, we significantly improved our statutory capital position in 2009. During the second quarter of 2009, we issued 15.5 million shares of common stock through a public offering. This offering generated approximately $132.8 million of net proceeds to the Company. During the fourth quarter of 2009, we recorded a pre-tax gain, net of deferred issue costs, of approximately $126.3 million, related to the issuance of $800 million aggregate senior notes and the concurrent re-purchase of $800 million in non-recourse funding obligations held by third parties, at a discount.

        Our core operating fundamentals, in addition to the gain mentioned above, contributed to our continued success for the year ended December 31, 2009, reflected in the year's pretax operating income of $495.4 million. During 2009, we also experienced significant improvements in our net unrealized loss position. As of December 31, 2009, our net unrealized loss position was $256.7 million, after tax and deferred acquisition costs ("DAC") offsets, an improvement of $1.3 billion or approximately 83.7%, compared to December 31, 2008.

        These positive accomplishments notwithstanding, the year also included some disappointments. These included ratings downgrades, a significant decline in our stock price from its peak in 2007, a reduction in earnings from holding large amounts of liquidity, material investment losses, and the dilutive effect of the aforementioned equity offering. We continue to see challenges ahead given the current environment, and therefore have a continued focus on balancing our overall capital strategy with earnings growth expectations and risk management.

        Significant financial information related to each of our segments is included in "Results of Operations".

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

        The factors which could affect our future results include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions and the following risks and uncertainties:

General

•

exposure to the risks of natural and man-made catastrophes, pandemics, malicious and terrorist acts that could adversely affect our operations and results;



•

computer viruses, network security breaches, disasters, or other unanticipated events could affect our data processing systems or those of our business partners and could damage our business and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations;



•

actual experience may differ from management's assumptions and estimates and negatively affect our results;



•

we may not realize our anticipated financial results from our acquisitions strategy;



•

we are dependent on the performance of others;

43

Table of Contents

•

our risk management policies and procedures could leave us exposed to unidentified or unanticipated risk, which could negatively affect our business or result in losses;

Financial environment

•

interest rate fluctuations could negatively affect our interest earnings and spread income or otherwise impact our business;



•

our investments are subject to market, credit, legal, and regulatory risks, which could be heightened during periods of extreme volatility or disruption in the financial and credit markets;



•

equity market volatility could negatively impact our business;



•

credit market volatility or disruption could adversely impact our financial condition or results from operations;



•

our ability to grow depends in large part upon the continued availability of capital;



•

we could be adversely affected by a ratings downgrade or other negative action by a ratings organization;



•

a loss of policyholder confidence in our insurance subsidiaries could lead to higher than expected levels of policyholder surrenders and withdrawal of funds;



•

we could be forced to sell investments at a loss to cover policyholder withdrawals;



•

disruption of the capital and credit markets could negatively affect our ability to meet our liquidity and financing needs;



•

difficult conditions in the economy generally could adversely affect our business and results from operations;



•

continued deterioration of general economic conditions could result in a severe and extended economic recession, which could materially adversely affect our business and results from operations;



•

there can be no assurance that the actions of the United States Government or other governmental and regulatory bodies for the purpose of stabilizing the financial markets will achieve their intended effect;



•

we may be required to establish a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, and capital position;



•

we could be adversely affected by an inability to access our credit facility;



•

our financial condition or results of operations could be adversely impacted if our assumptions regarding the fair value and future performance of our investments differ from actual experience;



•

the amount of statutory capital we have and must hold to maintain our financial strength and credit ratings and meet other requirements can vary significantly from time to time and is sensitive to a number of factors outside of our control;



•

we are a holding company and depend on the ability of our subsidiaries to transfer funds to us to meet our obligations and pay dividends;

Industry

•

insurance companies are highly regulated and subject to numerous legal restrictions and regulations;

44

Table of Contents

•

changes to tax law or interpretations of existing tax law could adversely affect our ability to compete with non-insurance products or reduce the demand for certain insurance products;



•

financial services companies are frequently the targets of litigation, including class action litigation, which could result in substantial judgments;



•

publicly held companies in general and the financial services industry in particular are sometimes the target of law enforcement investigations and the focus of increased regulatory scrutiny;



•

new accounting rules, changes to existing accounting rules, or the grant of permitted accounting practices to competitors could negatively impact us;



•

reinsurance introduces variability in our statements of income;



•

our reinsurers could fail to meet assumed obligations, increase rates, or be subject to adverse developments that could affect us;



•

policy claims fluctuate from period to period resulting in earnings volatility;

Competition

•

operating in a mature, highly competitive industry, which could limit our ability to gain or maintain our position in the industry and negatively affect profitability;



•

our ability to maintain competitive unit costs is dependent upon the level of new sales and persistency of existing business;



•

a ratings downgrade could adversely affect our ability to compete; and



•

we may not be able to protect our intellectual property and could also be subject to infringement claims.