As College Graduation Season Approaches, Assurant Health Offers Improved Product for Graduates; Short-Term Medical Coverage Policy Extended

MILWAUKEE, May 4 -- With college graduations taking place across the country in the coming weeks, thousands of young Americans will require short-term medical coverage to fill the gap between school and employment. In response to this growing need, Assurant Health, a national provider of individual medical, group and specialty health insurance products, has modified its short term medical policy to offer coverage up to 365 days, rather than 180 days (varies by state), providing added comfort and security to graduates and their families.

Research conducted last year by Assurant Health supports the importance of pursuing short-term coverage, as many parents do not realize their children are not covered under their policy. The survey revealed that nearly 40 percent of respondents mistakenly believe that adult children (ages 21-24) living at home are still covered under their parents’ health insurance plans. Unfortunately this is often not the case. While the age a child is dropped from a parent’s policy varies, typically most children lose coverage under their parents’ plan at the end of the month they graduate and cease to be full-time students. One thing is certain -- many college graduates, and their parents, are not aware that they may now be at serious financial risk.

“For many college graduates, health insurance coverage is a luxury that comes with that first job out of school, but for those who have not yet started that first job, health insurance is difficult to attain,” said Steve Keller, director of marketing for Specialty Products at Assurant Health. “We are pleased to be able to take a leadership role in ensuring that young people and their parents have the security of knowing that there are affordable, dependable and easy to obtain alternatives for their medical insurance. This is especially important during this post-college phase when they are confronting so many life changes and financial burdens.”

The survey also reveals that half (50 percent) of Americans believe that health insurance is only affordable through an employer, which could place college graduates and their parents at risk by prompting them to go without health insurance at all, even for a short time. All this adds up to the potential for a lot of uninsured Americans, especially among this young adult group.

Upon college graduation, Assurant Health’s short term medical coverage provides an easy and reliable insurance option that can last from 30 days to 365 days (varies by state), depending on the needs of the consumer.

For more information about Assurant Health and its short-term medical option, please visit http://www.assuranthealthshortterm.com.

(The purchase of short-term medical insurance does not preserve rights under HIPPA to which a student might otherwise be entitled.)

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About Assurant Health

In business since 1892, Assurant Health provides health insurance coverage for more than one million people nationwide. Assurant Health develops and provides a wide range of individual medical, small group, short term and student health insurance products, as well as non-insurance products.

Assurant Health also provides consumer-choice products such as Health Savings Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements. With almost 3,000 employees, Assurant Health is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., and has operations offices in Minnesota, Idaho, and Florida, as well as sales offices across the country. Assurant Health products are issued and underwritten by Fortis Insurance Company, John Alden Life Insurance Company and Fortis Benefits Insurance Company. The Assurant Health Web site is http://www.assuranthealth.com.

Assurant Health is part of Assurant, a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and selected other markets. Its four key business units -- 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 market segments and in the U.S. and selected international markets. Assurant is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. The Assurant Web site is http://www.assurant.com.

Contact Information

Beth Malone

Media Contact

Assurant Health

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