BANKERS LIFE AND CASUALTY COMPANY VIDEOS GARNER TELLY AWARDS

CHICAGO (April 7, 2004) - Bankers Life and Casualty Company has been honored with Telly Awards for three video presentations of interest to seniors. Silver Awards, the highest the Tellies can give, went to both "The Essentials of Medicare" and "We Specialize in Seniors," while "Aging Gracefully" was a Bronze Award winner.

The corporate videos were honored for quality of production in the "Non-Broadcast Video -- Health and Medicine" category. The Telly Awards are not awarded as part of a competition but only on the basis of merit. According to the organization, Silver Awards are given to only 7 - 10 % of the entrants and Bronze Awards to 18 - 25%.

"Many people were involved in the making of these videos," said the executive producer Mark Matenaer, senior manager of marketing at Bankers. "We knew the videos we were producing were high quality and that they would benefit seniors, but we are delighted that our peers found them worthy of honoring."

The series of three videos is made available at no charge to the public. Each video focuses on an issue of importance to American seniors, including financial preparation for retirement, Medicare, and how people can embrace the aging process and get the most out of life at any age. "We Specialize in Seniors" features Bankers spokesman Dick Van Dyke and the "Essentials of Medicare" and "Aging Gracefully" videos feature world renowned expert on aging Robert Butler, M.D., head of New York's International Longevity Center.

Founded in 1978, the Telly Awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, production companies, television stations, cable operators, and corporate video departments in the world. The highly respected competition receives over 10,000 entries annually from all 50 states and many foreign countries.

Every year, Telly Awards entries are submitted from some of the largest, best known U.S. firms. Entrants in 2003, for example, included BMW, Boeing, Target Corp., Honeywell, Miramax Films, NASA, NBC and Nike.

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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