News

HealthMarkets Adds Chief Marketing Officer; New Chief Actuary Also Joins Management Team

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas-(Business Wire)-September 4, 2008 - HealthMarkets, Inc. (http://www.healthmarkets.com) announced today that the Company has added a new senior management position, Chief Marketing Officer, to the company’s leadership team. Tim Roach, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, will be responsible for all of the company’s marketing initiatives, including brand strategy, public relations, acquisition marketing, consumer insights and member loyalty.

Additionally, Lucinda Lewis has been hired as Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary.

HealthMarkets is a leading provider of affordable health and life insurance to the self-employed, individuals and small businesses through its subsidiaries, The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company.

"Tim's vast experience in the development and execution of comprehensive consumer marketing plans, in both healthcare and consumer packaged goods companies, will give us the leadership necessary to advance our competitive position," said Phillip J. Hildebrand, HealthMarkets Chief Executive Officer. "We are excited that Tim will be directing our efforts as we sharpen our focus on the individual and self-employed health insurance markets."

In addition to leading all of the company’s marketing efforts, Roach will also be responsible for HealthMarkets Lead Marketing Group, and also will be heavily involved in product development and customer research, segmentation and retention strategies.

Prior to coming to HealthMarkets, Roach developed and managed all aspects of marketing for the Secure Horizons business for UnitedHealth Group. Before that, Tim spent 25 years in consumer packaged goods marketing and general management roles. Tim served as Vice President of International Marketing and General Manager, Americas for Ernest & Julio Gallo Winery. Tim also worked for S.C. Johnson & Sons, Inc., where he served as General Manager, Global Air Care Category (Glade), General Manager, Hungary and Marketing Manager, Windex. Earlier in his career Tim held marketing management positions with Kimberly-Clark Corporation and the Coca-Cola Company.

Before joining HealthMarkets, Lewis served as Vice President, Actuarial Specialty, Senior and State Sponsored Business for WellPoint, where she functioned as the chief actuary of a diverse and high growth set of businesses. Prior to that, she served as Vice President and Chief Actuary for Tufts Health Plan. Lewis also served for more than a decade as Actuarial Practice Leader for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and as a consultant actuary with William H. Mercer. She is also active in national health care policy. Lewis is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

"Cindy Lewis is an experienced and talented actuary who will provide HealthMarkets with leadership in the area of risk management," Hildebrand said. "She will play a key role in supporting more competitive and strategically priced products that will profitably grow our membership in our core markets."

About HealthMarkets

HealthMarkets, headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, is a provider of health and life insurance products to individuals, families, the self-employed and small businesses. HealthMarkets offers products and services through its licensed insurance subsidiaries The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company. The Company’s offerings include individual and self-employed health insurance, small employer group health insurance, life insurance and reinsurance. The Company is owned by a group of private equity investors, including affiliates of The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, members of management and the Company’s independent, licensed agents through the Company’s agent stock accumulation plans. For more information, visit http://www.healthmarkets.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Some of the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "objective," "plan," "possible," "potential" and similar expressions. Actual results may vary materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions; the continued ability of the Company to compete for customers and insureds in an industry where many of its competitors may have greater market share and/or greater financial resources; the Company’s ability to accurately estimate medical claims and control costs; changes in government regulation that could increase the costs of compliance or cause the Company to discontinue marketing its products in certain states; the Company’s failure to comply with new or existing government regulations that could subject it to significant fines and penalties and/or result in restrictions on its operations; changes in the relationship between the Company and the membership associations that make available to their members the health insurance and other insurance products issued by the Company’s insurance subsidiaries; changes in the laws and regulations governing so-called “association group” insurance (particularly changes that would subject the issuance of policies to prior premium rate approval and/or require the issuance of policies on a “guaranteed issue” basis); significant liabilities and costs associated with litigation; failure of the Company’s information systems to provide timely and accurate information; negative publicity regarding the Company’s business practices and/or regarding the health insurance industry in general; the Company’s inability to enter into or maintain satisfactory relationships with networks of hospitals, physicians, dentists, pharmacies and other health care providers; failure of the Company’s regulated insurance company subsidiaries to maintain their current ratings by A.M. Best Company, Fitch and/or Standard & Poor’s; and the other risk factors set forth in the reports filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.