Assurant 2012 Annual Report Download - page 11

ASSURANT, INC.2012 Form10-K 3
PARTI
PARTI
Information in this report for the years ended December31, 2011, 2010, 2009, and 2008 has been revised, as applicable, for the retrospective
application of the Company’s adoption of the amendments to existing guidance on accounting for costs associated with acquiring or renewing
insurance contracts. See Note2 to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information.
Unless the context otherwise requires, references to the terms “Assurant,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to our consolidated operations.
ITEM 1 Business
Assurant, Inc. is a Delaware corporation formed in connection with
the initial public o 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 Bene ts—partner with clients
who are leaders in their industries and build leadership positions in a
number of specialty insurance market segments.  ese segments provide
debt protection administration; credit-related insurance; warranties
and service contracts; pre-funded funeral insurance; solar project
insurance; lender-placed homeowners insurance; renters insurance
and related products; 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 worldwide
markets. To achieve this mission, we focus on the following areas:
Building and managing a portfolio of specialty
insurance businesses
Our four operating segments are focused on serving speci c sectors
of the insurance market. We continue to develop and add specialty
market leadership positions where we can meet unserved consumers
needs, achieve superior returns, and leverage enterprise resources. We
believe that the diversity of our businesses helps us to maintain  nancial
stability because our businesses will generally not be a 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 by applying our
core capabilities to create competitive advantages—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
re ects our prudent and disciplined approach to managing our capital.
Our mergers, acquisitions and business development process targets
new business that complements or supports our existing business
model. We balance investing in our businesses with returning capital
to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends.
Identifying and adapting to evolving market needs
Assurant’s businesses strive to adapt to changing market conditions by
tailoring product and service o erings to speci c client and customer
needs. By understanding consumer dynamics in our core markets, we
seek to design innovative products and services that will enable us to
sustain long-term pro table growth and market leading positions.