BANKERS LIFE AND CASUALTY COMPANY LAUNCHES THE BANKERS LEARNING NETWORK

Former American College VP William Lombardo appointed head

CHICAGO (October 9, 2002) - Bankers Life and Casualty Company, a leading provider of life, health and annuity products to senior Americans, this month launched The Bankers Learning Network, underscoring its commitment to agent education.

The Bankers Learning Network was created to foster continuous growth among field personnel through learning, and is coupled with an overriding strategy to provide them with a proven resource to develop personally and professionally throughout their careers.

The Bankers Learning Network process is organic, employing field agent and management committees to drive the learning process through the identification and development of "Best Practices" training tracks.

An integral part of the Bankers Learning Network is the Bankers University, created to advance learning and share "Best Practices" with peers. The University provides Bankers' managers with access to successful field leaders who make up the University faculty and address the subject of "Best Practices" in depth on a national basis.

"Our vision is to have the best trained agent force in the industry, and to be the number one provider of financial and insurance services to the senior market," said Scott Perry, Bankers' senior vice president, Career Sales and Distribution.

"We want the Bankers Learning Network to be the standard of excellence against which all other companies measure the ability of their agents to serve policyholder needs," Perry added.

Bankers has appointed William J. Lombardo to head the Bankers Learning Network. A financial services industry professional education veteran, Lombardo is a former vice president of The American College of Bryn Mawr, Penn., the nation's oldest and largest non-traditional provider of distance education for the financial services professional.

"We are extremely pleased that Bill, with his singular depth of experience and knowledge in the field of professional development is leading this important initiative for us," Perry went on to say.

Lombardo comes to Bankers with an impressive track record of key senior management positions in the field of professional education and e-learning. Prior to joining Bankers, he was executive vice president of sales and marketing for Princeton Learning Systems (PLS) and eMind, leading providers of internet-based education, training and certification solutions and services.

Lombardo joined Princeton Learning following ten years of distinguished service in a number of senior management positions at The American College. While at the college, he was instrumental in establishing a Center For Distance Learning Technology made up of a consortium of financial services companies, preparing to integrate new technology into their training and learning programs.

Established in 1879 and headquartered at the historic Merchandise Mart in downtown Chicago, Bankers Life and Casualty Company focuses exclusively on the financial security needs of seniors. The company offers a broad portfolio of health and life insurance and retirement savings products designed especially for seniors. These products are distributed through a national network of professionally trained company agents. Visit us online at www.bankers.com.

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