8-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported: February 10, 2005)

AMERUS GROUP CO.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

IOWA	001-15166	42-1458424
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

699 WALNUT STREET DES MOINES, IOWA	50309-3948
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (515) 362-3600

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
	Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers
	Item 9.01 (c). Financial Statements and Exhibits
SIGNATURE
EXHIBITS
Press Release

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement

Louis A. Holland was appointed to the Board of Directors of AmerUs Group Co. (“Company”) on February 10, 2005 (See Item 5.02 below) and received a grant of 2500 shares of restricted Company common stock (“Stock”). The Stock cannot be sold, transferred, pledged or assigned by Mr. Holland for a period of three years from the date of grant. Each person upon his or her initial appointment or election to the Board of Directors of the Company as a non-management director receives the same grant of Stock.

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers

(d) Louis A. Holland was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Company on February 10, 2005. Mr. Holland was named as a member of the Company’s investment and risk management committee. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Holland and any other persons pursuant to which he was elected. There are no transactions involving the Company and Mr. Holland that would be required to be reported by Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.

A copy of the Company’s press release announcing Mr. Holland’s appointment is filed as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01 (c). Financial Statements and Exhibits

     99.1     Press Release dated February 10, 2005

SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

AMERUS GROUP CO.
By:	/s/ Brenda J. Cushing
	Brenda J. Cushing
	Senior Vice President & Controller

Dated: February 10, 2005

EXHIBITS

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press Release dated February 10, 2005

EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	For more information, contact:
	Marty Ketelaar, Vice President,
	Investor Relations
	(515) 362-3693

AmerUs Group Names New Independent Director

     DES MOINES, Iowa, February 10, 2005—AmerUs Group Co. (NYSE: AMH), a leading producer of life insurance and annuity products, today announced that it has named a new independent director to its board of directors. Louis A. Holland, managing partner and chief investment officer of Holland Capital Management, L.P., has joined AmerUs Group’s board effective February 10, 2005. With the appointment of Mr. Holland, the board is comprised of 14 directors, 12 of whom are independent, non-employee directors.

     “Lou is an excellent addition to an outstanding board—he is a strong, proven leader with tremendous experience, which further complements the existing expertise on our board,” said Roger K. Brooks, chairman of AmerUs Group’s board.

     Biographical Information

     Louis A. Holland serves as managing partner and chief investment officer of Holland Capital. With over 35 years of experience in the investment management industry, he oversees the management of the firm’s equity and fixed income management strategies. Prior to founding Holland Capital in 1991, Mr. Holland gained early business management experience at Commonwealth Edison after playing professional football with both the Canadian Football League and National Football League. His investment experience was augmented by 15 years at A.G. Becker Paribas Inc., where he served as a vice president specializing in asset and portfolio management for corporations, endowments, foundations, public funds, Taft/Hartley, and high net worth individuals. In 1983, he formed his prior firm, Hahn Holland & Grossman.

     Mr. Holland currently serves on the following boards and committees: Board of Directors, Northwestern Mutual Series Fund, Inc. and Mason Street Funds, Inc.; Packaging Corporation of America; National Association of Securities Professionals; Northwestern Memorial Healthcare Corporation; McCormick Theological Seminary, the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago, and serves as vice-chairman of the University of Wisconsin Foundation.

     On a national level, he is a director of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and an advisory director of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Mr. Holland is an active member of local civic and business organizations as well.

     Mr. Holland earned a B.S. in economics from the University of Wisconsin and attended Loyola University Chicago Graduate School of Business. In 1990, the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association presented him with the Distinguished Alumni Award. More recently, the National Association of Securities Professionals honored Mr. Holland with the 2004 Maynard Jackson Entrepreneur of the Year Award. He has been a special guest and 20-year veteran panelist on Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser and Rukeyser’s Wall $treet. Mr. Holland’s additional media exposure includes guest appearances on the Financial News Network, CNN’s Moneyline, CNBC, and the Chicago Tonight show.

     Holland Capital, based in Chicago, Illinois, manages over $2.6 billion in equity and fixed income securities for institutional investors and to individuals. Holland Capital is also the investment advisor to the Lou Holland Growth Fund.

     About AmerUs Group

     AmerUs Group Co. is located in Des Moines, Iowa, and is engaged through its subsidiaries in the business of marketing individual life insurance and annuity products in the United States. Its major subsidiaries include: AmerUs Life Insurance Company, American Investors Life Insurance Company, Inc., Bankers Life Insurance Company of New York and Indianapolis Life Insurance Company.

     As of December 31, 2004, AmerUs Group’s total assets were $23.2 billion and shareholders’ equity totaled $1.6 billion, including accumulated other comprehensive income.

- 30 -