EX-99.1

(ASSURANT LOGO)


		Investor Relations & Press Contacts:

		Larry Cains or Melissa Kivett
		Assurant
		212-859-7045 or 212-859-7029
		larry.cains@assurant.com or melissa.kivett@assurant.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Assurant Reports Q3 2004 Net Income of $74.8 Million ($0.53 per Pro Forma Share) , Net Operating Income of $73.2 Million ($0.52 per Pro Forma Share)

New York — November 4, 2004 — Assurant, Inc. (“Assurant”) (NYSE: AIZ), a premier provider of specialized insurance and insurance-related products and services, today reported its results for the quarter and the nine-month period ended September 30, 2004.

J. Kerry Clayton, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Excluding the rare occurrence of four hurricanes, Assurant had a very good quarter. The strength of our diversified specialty insurance strategy is demonstrated in our strong operating performance so far this year. We remain focused on generating profitable growth from our market-leading specialty insurance businesses.”

Third Quarter Results:

Net income in the third quarter of 2004, which includes the impact of claims related to the unprecedented catastrophic activity in the quarter, decreased 24.7% to $74.8 million, or $0.53 per pro forma share (see footnote 1 at the end of this release), versus third quarter 2003 net income of $99.4 million, or $0.70 per pro forma share.

Net operating income (see footnote 2 at the end of this release) for the third quarter of 2004 decreased 23.2% to $73.2 million, or $0.52 per pro forma share, compared to third quarter 2003 net operating income of $95.3 million, or $0.67 per pro forma share. Net operating income excludes capital gains and losses, loss on disposal of business and IPO related expenses.

Net earned premiums in the third quarter of 2004 grew 3.7% to $1.6 billion from $1.5 billion for the same period in 2003. Assurant Health was the leading contributor of net earned premium growth in the third quarter of 2004.

Net investment income in the third quarter of 2004 increased to $160.0 million from $150.7 million in the third quarter of 2003 as a result of an increase in invested assets.

The yield on average invested assets and cash and cash equivalents was 5.56% in the third quarter of 2004, compared to 5.71% in the third quarter of 2003.

Nine-Month Results:

Net income in the first nine months of 2004 grew 0.4% to $264.4 million, or $1.86 per pro forma share, versus first nine months 2003 net income of $263.3 million, or $1.85 per pro forma share.

Net operating income for the first nine months of 2004 grew 1.6% to $258.4 million, or $1.82 per pro forma share, compared to first nine months 2003 net operating income of $254.4 million, or $1.79 per pro forma share. Net operating income excludes capital gains and losses, loss on disposal of business and IPO-related expenses.

Net earned premiums in the first nine months of 2004 grew 6.9% to $4.8 billion from $4.5 billion for the same period in 2003.

Net investment income in the first nine months of 2004 increased to $471.5 million from $456.6 million in the first nine months of 2003 as a result of an increase in invested assets. The yield on average invested assets and cash and cash equivalents was 5.47% for the first nine months of 2004, compared to 5.81% for the first nine months of 2003.

Reconciliation of Net operating income to Net income


	For the Three Months Ended						For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30,			September 30,			September 30,			September 30,
	2004			2003			2004			2003
	(UNAUDITED)
	(amounts in millions, net of tax)
Assurant Solutions	$	3.0		$	31.4		$	81.6		$	100.1
Assurant Health		47.9			30.6			124.5			92.6
Assurant Employee Benefits		15.0			22.1			42.2			48.6
Assurant Preneed		8.9			8.9			25.5			27.9
Amortization of deferred gain on disposal of businesses		9.4			11.4			28.1			34.0
Interest expense and distributions on preferred securities of subsidiary trusts		(9.8	)		(19.0	)		(28.1	)		(57.1	)
Corporate and other		(1.2	)		9.9			(15.4	)		8.3

Net operating income		73.2			95.3			258.4			254.4
Adjustments:
Net realized gains on investments		1.6			4.8			14.6			9.6
Loss on disposal of business		—			—			(6.3	)		—
Expenses directly related to the initial public offering		—			(0.7	)		(2.3	)		(0.7	)

Net income	$	74.8		$	99.4		$	264.4		$	263.3

Assurant Solutions

Assurant Solutions third quarter 2004 net operating income was $3.0 million, down 90.5% from third quarter 2003 net operating income of $31.4 million. Net operating income for the first nine months in 2004 was $81.6 million down 18.5% from $100.1 million in the first nine months of 2003. Net operating income for the third quarter and nine-month period of 2004 decreased due to claims from four hurricanes during the quarter. After tax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance, in the quarter were $49.1 million, compared to $6.5 million in the third quarter of 2003. Excluding these losses, net operating income increased primarily due to good loss experience and general business growth.

Assurant Solutions third quarter 2004 net earned premiums decreased 1.7% to $602.7 million from $612.9 million in the same year-ago period. Net earned premiums in the first nine months of 2004 grew 5.7% to $1.8 billion from $1.7 billion in the first nine months of 2003. The changes in net earned premium were primarily due to growth in our specialty property products and international businesses offset by declines in domestic credit insurance.

Assurant Health

Assurant Health third quarter 2004 net operating income increased 56.4% to $47.9 million from $30.6 million in same period in 2003. Net operating income for the first nine months of 2004 grew 34.5% to $124.5 million from $92.6 million in the first nine months of 2003. The increases in net operating income for the third quarter and the nine-month period of 2004 were primarily due to individual medical premium growth and continued improvement in combined ratio from already favorable levels.

Assurant Health third quarter 2004 net earned premiums grew 11.1% to $563.2 million from $506.7 million in the same period in 2003. Net earned premiums in the first nine months of 2004 increased 13.4% to $1.7 billion from $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2003. Net earned premium growth for the third quarter and nine-month period of 2004 is attributable to the individual medical product lines. For the third consecutive quarter, Health Savings Account (HSA) sales continued to be a strong contributor to individual medical sales.

Assurant Employee Benefits

Assurant Employee Benefits third quarter 2004 net operating income decreased 32.2% to $15.0 million from net operating income of $22.1 million in the same period of 2003. Net operating income for the nine months of 2004 decreased 13.1% to $42.2 million from $48.6 million in the first nine months of 2003. Third quarter 2003 results benefited from a change in reserves of $11.5 million after tax. Excluding this reserve change, net operating income for the third quarter and nine months of 2004 increased due to continued improvements in loss experience in the disability and group life businesses and increased investment income.

Assurant Employee Benefits third quarter 2004 net earned premiums grew 2.9% to $305.8 million from $297.3 million in the same period of 2003. Net earned premiums in the first nine months of 2004 grew 1.4% to $933.0 million from $920.3 million in the first nine months of 2003. Net earned premium increases for the third quarter and the nine-month period of 2004 were primarily driven by increases in disability premiums. Modest premium growth was a result of pricing and renewal discipline in a competitive market, however voluntary sales continue to show strong growth.

Assurant Preneed

Assurant Preneed third quarter 2004 net operating income was $8.9 million, essentially unchanged from the same period of 2003. Net operating income for the first nine months of 2004 decreased 8.3% to $25.5 million from $27.9 million in the first nine months of 2003. The decrease in net operating income was attributable to a reduction in investment yields resulting from continued low new money rates.

Assurant Preneed third quarter 2004 net earned premiums increased 1.7% to $131.8 million from $129.6 million in the same period of 2003. Assurant Preneed first nine months 2004 net earned premiums of $401.3 million were comparable to $400.9 million in the first nine months of 2003.

Corporate

Amortization of deferred gains from businesses sold through reinsurance declined consistent with the run-off of these businesses. Interest expense in the third quarter of 2004 declined by $9.2 million after tax compared to the third quarter of 2003 due to lower levels of debt at lower interest rates. Corporate and other net operating loss for the third quarter of 2004 was $1.2 million, compared to income of $9.9 million in 2003. The decrease is primarily due to public company expenses, including expenses related to Sarbanes-Oxley 404 compliance, and lower investment income.

Financial Position

At September 30, 2004 total assets were $23.6 billion and total invested assets, cash and cash equivalents were $12.1 billion. In the third quarter of 2004, Assurant had after-tax net capital gains of approximately $1.6 million compared to net realized after-tax gains of $4.8 million in the third quarter of 2003. In the third quarter of 2004, Assurant recorded no other than temporary impairments.

As part of its approved share repurchase program of up to 10% of its outstanding common stock, Assurant repurchased 1.36 million shares in the open market during the third quarter ended September 30, 2004, for an average price of $26.00 per share, including commissions. As a result, on September 30, 2004, the Company had 140.8 million shares of common stock outstanding. The stock buyback program may utilize open market and/or private transactions. The amount and timing of the repurchases will depend upon market conditions.

Earnings Conference Call

Assurant will host a conference call this morning, November 4th at 10:00 a.m. (ET) with access available via Internet and telephone. Investors and analysts may participate in the live conference call by dialing 800-473-6123 (toll-free domestic) or 973-582-2706 (international); passcode: Assurant. Please call to register at least 10 minutes before the conference call begins. A replay of the call will be available for one week via telephone starting at approximately 12:00 pm (ET) on November 4, 2004 and can be accessed at 877-519-4471 (toll-free domestic) or 973-341-3080 (international); passcode: 5234911. The webcast will be archived for one month on Assurant’s website.

About Assurant

Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other international markets. The four key businesses — Assurant Employee Benefits; Assurant Health; Assurant Preneed; and Assurant Solutions — have partnered with clients who are leaders in their industries and have built leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments in the U.S. and selected international markets. The Assurant business units provide creditor-placed homeowners insurance; manufactured housing homeowners insurance; debt protection administration; credit-related insurance; warranties and extended services contracts; individual health and small employer group health insurance; group dental insurance; group disability insurance; group life insurance; and pre-funded funeral insurance.

The company, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ, has over $20 billion in assets and $7 billion in annual revenue. Assurant has more than 12,000 employees and is headquartered in New York’s financial district.

Safe Harbor Statement

Some of the statements included in this press release, particularly those anticipating future financial performance, business prospects, growth and operating strategies and similar matters, are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For a discussion of the factors that could affect our actual results please refer to the risk factors identified from time to time in our SEC reports, including, but not limited to, our 10-K, as filed with the SEC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Assurant uses the following non-GAAP financial measures to analyze the company’s operating performance for the periods presented in this press release. Because Assurant’s calculation of these measures may differ from similar measures used by other companies, investors should be careful when comparing Assurant’s non-GAAP financial measures to those of other companies.

(1) Pro forma earnings per share has been included as a measure of operating performance. In February 2004, Assurant completed a significant capital restructuring in conjunction with its initial public offering of common stock. Pro forma earnings per share reflects earnings per share adjusted as if this capital restructuring had occurred on January 1, 2003. This restructuring included: a stock split and conversion of Class B and C shares resulting in total outstanding shares of 109,222,276; the issuance of 32,976,854 shares of Assurant common stock to Fortis Insurance N.V. in exchange for a capital contribution of $725.5 million, and the issuance of 68,976 restricted shares of Assurant common stock to certain officers and directors of the company pursuant to specific restricted stock grants (9,546 vested shares and 59,430 unvested shares). These transactions occurred subsequent to the December 31, 2003 balance sheet, but management believes that this adjusted measure provides a better indication of operating performance than the corresponding GAAP measure, earnings per share.

(2) Assurant uses net operating income as an important measure of the company’s operating performance. Net operating income equals net income excluding net realized gains (losses) on investments and other unusual and/or infrequent items. The company believes net operating income provides investors a valuable measure of the performance of the company’s ongoing business, because it excludes both the effect of realized gains (losses) on investments that tend to be highly variable from period to period, and those events that are unusual and/or unlikely to recur.

Assurant, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statement of Operations
Three and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2004 and 2003


	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2004		2003		2004		2003
	(in thousands except number of shares and per share amount)
Revenues
Net earned premiums and other considerations	$	1,603,548	$	1,546,474	$	4,844,259	$	4,533,503
Net investment income		160,034		150,723		471,486		456,608
Net realized gain on investments		2,501		7,334		22,447		14,808
Amortization of deferred gain on disposal of businesses		14,539		17,522		43,298		52,235
Fees and other income		51,238		53,524		154,511		172,764

Total revenues		1,831,860		1,775,577		5,536,001		5,229,918
Benefits, losses and expenses
Policyholder benefits		976,934		879,321		2,888,948		2,656,325
Amortization of deferred acquisition costs and value of business acquired		220,092		232,842		668,260		684,821
Underwriting, general and administrative expenses		510,473		488,350		1,530,235		1,407,169
Interest expense		15,107		—		41,104		—
Loss on disposal of business		—		—		9,232		—
Distributions on mandatorily redeemable preferred securities of subsidiary trusts		—		29,288		2,163		87,854

Total benefits, losses and expenses		1,722,606		1,629,801		5,139,942		4,836,169

Income before income taxes		109,254		145,776		396,059		393,749
Income taxes		34,410		46,378		131,627		130,464

Net income	$	74,844	$	99,398	$	264,432	$	263,285

Net income per share:
Basic	$	0.53	$	0.91	$	1.92	$	2.41
Diluted	$	0.53	$	0.91	$	1.92	$	2.41
Dividends per share	$	0.07	$	0.19	$	0.14	$	1.66
Share Data:
Weighted average shares outstanding used in basic per share calculations		141,694,172		109,222,276		137,818,397		109,222,276
Plus: Dilutive securities		92,981		—		67,265		—

Weighted average shares used in diluted per share calculations		141,787,153		109,222,276		137,885,662		109,222,276

Assurant, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
At September 30, 2004 (unaudited) and December 30, 2003


	September 30,		December 31,
	2004		2003
	(in thousands except number of shares)
Assets
Investments:
Fixed maturities available for sale, at fair value (amortized cost - $8,567,856 in 2004 and $8,229,861 in 2003)	$	9,045,812	$	8,728,838
Equity securities available for sale, at fair value (cost - $540,062 in 2004 and $436,823 in 2003)		548,203		456,440
Commercial mortgage loans on real estate at amortized cost		1,039,914		932,791
Policy loans		66,025		68,185
Short-term investments		225,851		275,878
Other investments		508,398		461,473

Total investments		11,434,203		10,923,605
Cash and cash equivalents		692,373		958,197
Premiums and accounts receivable		482,560		468,766
Reinsurance recoverables		4,263,042		4,445,265
Accrued investment income		138,869		135,267
Tax receivable		—		26,499
Deferred acquisition costs		1,562,094		1,405,169
Property and equipment, at cost less accumulated depreciation		270,922		283,762
Deferred income taxes, net		31,385		60,321
Goodwill		831,346		828,523
Value of business acquired		175,872		191,929
Other assets		214,869		195,958
Assets held in separate accounts		3,540,759		3,805,058

Total assets	$	23,638,294	$	23,728,319

Assurant, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
At September 30, 2004 (unaudited) and December 31, 2003


	September 30,			December 31,
	2004			2003
	(in thousands except number of shares)
Liabilities
Future policy benefits and expenses	$	6,328,838		$	6,235,140
Unearned premiums		3,221,977			3,133,847
Claims and benefits payable		3,641,270			3,512,809
Commissions payable		309,654			371,074
Reinsurance balances payable		121,705			110,063
Funds held under reinsurance		195,916			200,384
Deferred gain on disposal of businesses		344,054			387,353
Accounts payable and other liabilities		1,308,728			1,370,104
Tax payable		74,589			—
Debt		971,593			1,750,000
Mandatorily redeemable preferred securities of subsidiary trusts		—			196,224
Mandatorily redeemable preferred stock		24,160			24,160
Liabilities related to separate accounts		3,540,759			3,805,058

Total liabilities		20,083,243			21,096,216
Commitments and contingencies		—			—
Stockholders’ equity
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, 800,000,000 shares authorized, 142,268,106 and 109,222,276 shares issued, 140,821,350 and 109,222,276 shares outstanding at September 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively		1,423			1,092
Additional paid-in capital		2,790,440			2,063,763
Retained earnings		493,266			248,721
Unamortized restricted stock compensation		(708	)		—
Accumulated other comprehensive income		306,665			318,527
Treasury stock		(36,035	)		—

Total stockholders’ equity		3,555,051			2,632,103

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	23,638,294		$	23,728,319