Assurant, Inc., a premier provider of specialty insurance and insurance-related products and services, announced today its support for an exciting initiative in youth financial education -- Junior Achievement Finance Park, a new interactive learning center being built in downtown Atlanta.

Assurant has signed on as a gold founding partner, contributing $100,000 from the Assurant Foundation® to Junior Achievement's capital campaign. Assurant also will design and maintain the insurance "store" in Finance Park, where students from three metro Atlanta school systems will come to learn personal financial skills.

Assurant has more than 2,000 employees in metro Atlanta, at office centers in Cobb County and Duluth. Assurant executives on Wednesday joined leaders from Junior Achievement of Georgia and other supporters at groundbreaking ceremonies at the Georgia World Congress Center, the future site of JA Finance Park and the JA Discovery Center.

"We're thrilled to extend our partnership with Junior Achievement through this creative new initiative," said Jill Ratliff, senior vice president, Assurant Specialty Property, and a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement of Georgia. "Our business -- insurance and risk management -- is ultimately about protecting your financial future. That's a vital lesson for young people to learn, and Finance Park is going to be a fantastic teaching tool for schools in the Atlanta region."

Each year, some 30,000 middle school students from Atlanta, Fulton County and DeKalb County will learn finance and career skills. The interactive experience opens this fall.

Junior Achievement's Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center is a state-of-the-art financial literacy and career readiness center, which will house two interactive venues, JA BizTown and JA Finance Park. While on site, students will immerse themselves in reality-based, decision-making processes, addressing common personal and professional challenges adults experience daily.

About Assurant

Assurant is a premier provider of specialized insurance products and related services in North America and select worldwide markets. Assurant, a Fortune 500 company and a member of the S&P 500, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol AIZ. Assurant has approximately $28 billion in assets and $8 billion in annual revenue. www.assurant.com.

About the Assurant Foundation

Established three decades ago by Assurant, Inc., the Assurant Foundation provides financial assistance to charitable organizations to help improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work. The Assurant Foundation's charitable giving focuses on health and wellness, homes and property, and local hometown help in the communities Assurant serves.

Assurant Specialty Property
Robert Byrd, 770-763-2319
Senior Director, Communications
robert.byrd@assurant.com