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3ASSURANT, INC.2010 Form 10K
PART I
ITEM 1 Business
PART I
ITEM 1 Business
Assurant, Inc. (“Assurant” or the “Company”) is a Delaware corporation
formed in connection with the initial public off ering (“IPO”) of its
common stock, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on
February 5, 2004. Prior to the IPO, Fortis, Inc., a Nevada corporation,
formed Assurant and merged into it on February 4, 2004.
Assurant is a provider of specialized insurance products and related
services in North America and select worldwide markets. Our four
operating segments—Assurant Solutions, Assurant Specialty Property,
Assurant Health, and Assurant Employee Benefi ts—partner with clients
who are leaders in their industries and build leadership positions in a
number of specialty insurance market segments in the United States of
America (“U.S.”) and select worldwide markets.  ese segments provide
debt protection administration, credit-related insurance, warranties
and service contracts, pre-funded funeral insurance, lender–placed
homeowners insurance, manufactured housing homeowners insurance,
individual health and small employer group health insurance, group
dental insurance, group disability insurance, and group life insurance.
Assurant’s mission is to be the premier provider of specialized insurance
products and related services in North America and select international
markets. To achieve this mission, we focus on the following areas:
Building and maintaining a portfolio of specialty
insurance businesses
Our four operating segments are focused on serving specifi c sectors of
the insurance market. We believe that the diversity of our businesses
allows us to maintain a greater level of fi nancial stability because our
businesses will generally not be aff ected in the same way by the same
economic and operating trends.
Leveraging a set of core capabilities for competitive
advantage
We pursue a strategy of building leading positions in specialized market
segments for insurance products and related services in North America
as well as select international markets. In these markets, we seek to apply
our core capabilities to create a competitive advantage— managing risk;
managing relationships with large distribution partners; and integrating
complex administrative systems. ese core capabilities represent areas
of expertise that are advantages within each of our businesses. We
seek to generate attractive returns by building on specialized market
knowledge, well-established distribution relationships and, in some
businesses, economies of scale.
Managing targeted growth initiatives
Our approach to mergers, acquisitions and other growth opportunities
refl ects our prudent and disciplined approach to managing our businesses.
Our mergers and acquisitions process targets new business that supports
our existing business model. We establish performance goals in our
short-term incentive compensation plan for senior management based
on growth in targeted areas.
Identifying and adapting to evolving market needs
Assurant’s businesses strive to adapt to changing market conditions by
tailoring product and service off erings to specifi c client and customer
needs. By understanding the dynamics of our core markets, we seek to
design innovative products and services that will enable us to sustain
long-term profi table growth and market leading positions.
Competition
Assurant’s businesses focus on niche products and related services
within broader insurance markets. Although we face competition in
each of our businesses, we believe that no single competitor competes
against us in all of our business lines.  e business lines in which we
operate are generally characterized by a limited number of competitors.
Competition in each business is based on a number of factors, including
quality of service, product features, price, scope of distribution, fi nancial
strength ratings and name recognition.  e relative importance of these
factors varies by product and market. We compete for customers and
distributors with insurance companies and other fi nancial services
companies in our businesses.
Competitors of Assurant Solutions and Assurant Specialty Property
include insurance companies and fi nancial institutions. Assurant
Health’s main competitors are other health insurance companies, Health
Maintenance Organizations (“HMOs”) and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield
plans in states where we write business. Assurant Employee Benefi ts’
competitors include other benefi t and life insurance companies, dental
managed care entities and not-for-profi t dental plans.