MEDIA ADVISORY 09/19/08

MEDIA ADVISORY—Insurance Industry Topic Released onto the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^TM for the Verification Phase

Norwalk, CT, September 19, 2008—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has released the Insurance Industry Topic to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^TM (Codification). Now in its verification phase, the Codification simplifies the organization of thousands of authoritative U.S. accounting pronouncements issued by multiple standard setters.

“The Insurance Industry Topic completes initially planned topics in the Codification. It moves one step further in the evolution of the Codification, which, when approved in April 2009, will become the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP,” states Tom Hoey, project director for the FASB Codification project. “During the current verification period, constituents are encouraged to provide their input on whether the Business Combinations Topic and all other Codification content accurately reflect U.S. GAAP.”

Users who register at http://asc.fasb.org are able to access and review the online Codification, including the newly added Business Combinations Topic, free of charge. The Codification’s one-year verification phase, which ends January 15, 2009, gives constituents the chance to become acquainted with the Codification’s new structure and provide the FASB with feedback regarding any content issues before it becomes authoritative.

The Insurance Industry Topic integrates various standards, including FASB Statement No. 60, Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises; FASB Statement No. 113, Accounting and Reporting for Reinsurance of Short-Duration and Long-Duration Contracts; AICPA Statement of Position 00-3, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Demutualizations and Formations of Mutual Insurance Holding Companies and for Certain Long-Duration Participating Contracts; AICPA Statement of Position 03-1, Accounting and Reporting by Insurance Enterprises for Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts and for Separate Accounts; AICPA Statement of Position 05-1, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection With Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts; and various EITF Issues and SEC literature. Updates for FASB Statement Nos. 141(R), 160, and 163 will be processed within the coming weeks.

Users are advised that the Codification content is not yet approved as authoritative and, therefore, they must verify research results using their existing resources for the currently effective literature. In April 2009, the FASB expects to approve the Codification content—excluding related SEC content—as the single authoritative source of U.S. accounting and reporting standards.

The Codification does not include governmental accounting standards.

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.