ING Reinsurance Consolidates Life, Accident and Disability Units to Better Serve Customers

ING, a leader in both the disability and group life and accident reinsurance markets, has consolidated these respective high performing teams in order to streamline customer service and offer a more comprehensive approach to meeting the reinsurance needs of its clients. The new unit will be under the direction of Scott Machut, Vice President and Head of Life, Accident and Disability Reinsurance; and Jim Rathburn, Vice President of Life, Accident and Disability Reinsurance.

"This is a positive move for ING Reinsurance as we continue to find better ways to meet the increased demands of clients across the Life, Accident and Disability lines," said Mike Emerson, President. "The Disability Reinsurance team is strong and talented - and will continue to maintain its focus. With their broad leadership and management skills, Scott and Jim can build on that strength so that our new combined unit will have advantages for customers, as well as for employees." Together, Scott and Jim have more than 30 years of experience in various roles within ING, most recently leading the Life, Accident, and Specialty Reinsurance unit.

As part of this reorganization, Curt Zepeda has been named Vice President and Chief Underwriter for Disability Reinsurance and Jeff Schuh has been named Vice President and Senior Actuary, Disability Reinsurance. Roxanne Bergland, Marketing Manager, Life, Accident, and Disability Reinsurance, will continue in her key marketing and client relationship role for Disability products, and given the common client base, her expertise will also be utilized across multiple product lines.

"This new structure enables us to provide service on a customer-focused basis as opposed to a product line basis," said Machut. "Merging these units leverages our individual strengths and allows us to focus on growing our business by better meeting the needs of our customers," he added. "It will be much easier for our customers to do business with us."

"This is a chance to build on the expertise of the Disability team and the reputation it has earned in the marketplace," said Rathburn. "Separately, each team has achieved excellence; and both are industry leaders. By coming together, we can capitalize on our strengths and focus on comprehensive reinsurance solutions."

The experienced Life, Accident, and Disability staff at ING Reinsurance that has been responsible for providing industry leading value added services will be maintained, and clients will continue to benefit from that expertise. This customer focused team will provide the ongoing excellence in service that ING Reinsurance customers have come to expect.

"ING Reinsurance is committed to pursuing ways to improve our value proposition to the market, and this new structure will allow us to better serve our clients," added Emerson.

ING Reinsurance describes the group life, accident and health reinsurance business of ReliaStar Life Insurance Company of Minneapolis, MN, a member of the ING family of companies.

ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries.

With a diverse workforce of over 112,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.

In the U.S., the ING family of companies offer a comprehensive array of financial services to retail and institutional clients which include life insurance, retirement plans, mutual funds, managed accounts, alternative investments, direct banking, institutional investment management, annuities, employee benefits, financial planning, and reinsurance. ING holds top-tier rankings in key U.S. markets and serves over 14 million customers across the nation. For more information, visit www.ingreinsurance.com.

SOURCE: ING Reinsurance

CONTACT: Press enquiries, John Stewart of ING Reinsurance, United States
of America, +1-612-342-7139, or john.stewart@us.ing.com

Web site: http://www.ingreinsurance.com/