News Room

June 15, 2001

Fortis, Inc. Forms Strategic Alliance with CyberStarts to Develop Innovative e-Commerce Solutions

Assurant Group Executive Named Managing Director of CyberStartso

NEW YORK/ATLANTA: Fortis, Inc., part of international financial services provider Fortis [BSE: FOR and AMS: FOR], and CyberStarts, Inc., a leading financial services technology holding company, have formed an alliance to develop e-commerce solutions for Fortis, Inc.’s specialty businesses in the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, Fortis, Inc. will make an initial investment in CyberStarts through the purchase of preferred stock. Fortis, Inc. also will have an option to make a second investment in the company at a later date. The Fortis, Inc. investment complements earlier investments in CyberStarts by First Data Corporation, Marsh & McLennan Capital, Wachovia Capital Associates and NCO Group, Inc.

Assurant Group, a Fortis, Inc. affiliate headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. and Miami, Fla., will manage Fortis, Inc.’s role in the alliance. Assurant is a leading affinity marketer of specialty insurance, extended service contracts and membership programs in the United States.

J. Kerry Clayton, president and chief executive officer of Fortis, Inc., said, "Our agreement with CyberStarts underscores Fortis, Inc.’s commitment to building and managing a select portfolio of U.S. specialty businesses that are leaders in their respective markets. This alliance will allow us to continuously improve the quality and accessibility of products and services we offer our clients by giving us proprietary access to cutting-edge technology before it becomes commercially available."

Bruce Camacho, president of Assurant Group, added: "Being at the drawing table with the distribution capabilities, domain expertise and dominant market positioning represented by CyberStarts’ strategic partners is an extremely compelling value proposition. This strategic partnership will enable us to work closely with young companies that are developing technology solutions that are of strategic interest to us. We were also attracted to CyberStarts by its talented core of managers and the disciplined process by which they run their business. "

Ashish Bahl, CyberStarts’ founder and president, said that the alliance with Fortis, Inc. validates the company’s recent transition from an incubator for early-stage e-commerce firms to a financial services technology holding company. "This provides us incredible access to a great strategic partner that is active both domestically and internationally," he said. "Also, Assurant’s direct involvement represents a serious injection of management talent into our company."

As part of the alliance agreement, Bruce Camacho will join CyberStarts’ board of directors. Peter E. McNally, an Assurant executive vice president, will join the company as a managing director and serve on its investment committee. Several other managers currently involved in Assurant’s e-commerce initiatives also will join CyberStarts’ management team.

About Fortis, Inc.

Fortis, Inc. is a financial services company that, through its operating companies and affiliates, has built leadership positions in a number of specialty insurance market segments in the United States. The company has approximately $25 billion in assets under management. The companies of Fortis, Inc. are leading providers of individual, temporary and small group health insurance; group disability, life and dental insurance; preneed funeral insurance; credit related insurance products and services; and membership and extended service programs.

Fortis, Inc. is part of Fortis, an international financial services provider active in the fields of insurance, banking and investment. Fortis employs approximately 70,000 people worldwide and offers a broad range of financial services. In its home market, the Benelux countries, Fortis occupies a leading position and offers a broad range of financial services to individuals, companies and the public sector. Outside its home market, Fortis concentrates on selected market segments. At year-end 2000, Fortis had total assets in excess of $410 billion. As one of the world's largest financial services companies, Fortis ranks 26th on the Fortune 'Global 500' and 33rd on the Forbes 'World Super 50' (July 24, 2000). For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fortis.com.

About Assurant

Headquartered in Atlanta and Miami, Assurant is an affinity marketing company that partners with financial institutions, auto dealers, retailers, utilities and others to leverage their relationships with consumers to distribute products and services using its technology, processing and marketing capabilities. Member companies are leading providers of specialty insurance, extended service contracts and membership programs. Assurant has more than 4,800 employees and operations in 11 states, Argentina, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Panama, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.assurant.com.

About CyberStarts

Headquartered in Atlanta, CyberStarts was founded in January 2000 by Ashish Bahl, former senior vice president of iXL Ventures and founder of Exchange Place Solutions; Bert Ellis, chairman and chief executive of iXL Enterprises; and Rob Guyton, chairman and chief executive officer of Monarch Capital Partners and co-founder of Inktomi Corp. Its mission is to invest and operate technology companies in under-served markets within the financial services industry. A full-service technology holding company, it is currently focusing on business-to-business financial services, payments and web infrastructure opportunities (products, services, software, marketplaces, auctions). Its team has more than 120 years of expertise in investments, insurance, banking, credit and payments. For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.cyberstarts.com.

Assurant Group is a service mark of Fortis, Inc.
Financial information is as of December 31, 2000.

Media contact

Melissa Kivett
Fortis, Inc.
(212) 859 7029
email: melissa.kivett@us.fortis.com

Ashish Bahl
CyberStarts, Inc.
(770) 291 7600
email: abahl@cyberstarts.com

James A. Sykes
Director, Corporate Communications
Assurant Solutions
260 Interstate N. Circle, SE
Atlanta, Ga. 30339-2111
Telephone: 770.763.1015
FAX: 770.859.4325
E-mail: james.sykes@assurant.com