News Room

February 10, 2003

Assurant Group Relocates Support Operations for Extended Service Contract Business

Consumer Services will transfer Tampa, Fla., call center to an expanded company call center in Lawton, Okla.

ATLANTA, GA: Assurant Group is expanding a company call center in Lawton, Okla., and adding staff at its corporate offices in Atlanta to accommodate a relocation of Consumer Services support operations now located in Tampa, Fla.

Assurant is a leading provider of extended service contracts and related products and services for home appliances, consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment.  The Tampa office has served as both a call center and a claims/operations center for this business.

“Relocating our Tampa operations will enable Assurant to leverage the investments in people, technology and facilities that we have made in Lawton, Atlanta and other company sites to support the significant growth that we expect in the near future,” said Joe Erdeman, senior vice president and Personal Property Protection business executive.

“We have enjoyed much success in Tampa, including winning ISO 9002 certification for our quality management and quality assurance processes,” Erdeman said. “This move will enable us to enhance the level of excellence that our clients have already come to expect from Assurant’s ESC business.”
Consumer Services’ Tampa offices are located in leased space at 14025 Riveredge Drive.  The relocation will be completed by Aug. 29, 2003.

Erdeman said that most of 200 Tampa jobs affected by the move will be relocated rather than eliminated because Assurant has aggressive plans to grow its ESC business domestically and internationally.  A number of Tampa managers have been invited to relocate, he said. “Our clients and their customers should not notice any change in service levels due to the relocation.”

The Lawton call center, which currently employs 335, opened in March 2000.  It has grown steadily in staff and call-handling volume. By yearend 2003, it will be able to handle approximately five million calls annually.  A 54,000 square-foot addition to the center is scheduled for completion in late April. 

In Atlanta, Assurant is clearing two floors at its 12-story corporate headquarters building in northwest Atlanta to accommodate additional staff and support operations.  Approximately 700 are currently employed at that site.

Assurant Group provides specialty risk management products and services through a large variety of clients to their respective customers.  Clients include financial institutions, auto and manufactured home dealers and retailers.  Products include specialty property insurance, debt protection programs, extended service contracts and certain membership programs.

Headquartered in Atlanta and Miami, Assurant does business throughout North America, Latin America and Europe.  The company has more than 5,600 employees and has operations in 11 states in the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Ireland, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom.

Assurant is part of Fortis, an international financial services provider active in the fields of insurance, banking and investment. Fortis ranks 31st based on assets and 85th based on revenues on the Fortune ‘Global 500’ (July 22, 2002) and 38th on the Forbes Global ‘Super 50’ list (July 3, 2002). Fortis is listed on the Amsterdam (FORA), Brussels (FORB) and Luxembourg (FOR LX) stock exchanges and has a sponsored ADR program (FORSY) in the United States.

Assurant Group is a service mark of Fortis, Inc.
Financial information as of December 31, 2001. 

Media contact

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

Reference: 0301