Western & Southern Names Cris Collinsworth National Spokesperson

CINCINNATI, May 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) has signed a multi-year agreement with Cris Collinsworth to become its national spokesperson.

"Cris is without a doubt one of the most recognizable, well liked and knowledgeable broadcasters working today," said John F. Barrett, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Western & Southern. "His credibility, approachability and trust provide an ideal match with our company's core values. We are extremely pleased to have Cris on board as our national spokesperson."

Collinsworth recently won his 14th Sports Emmy for his work as lead analyst on NBC Sunday Night Football. "I welcome the opportunity for a long-term relationship with Western & Southern as a leader in its industry," Collinsworth said. "The company has an outstanding reputation and I look forward to helping it build quality results."

Collinsworth was an All-American wide receiver at the University of Florida before joining the Cincinnati Bengals in 1981. After eight seasons, two Super Bowl appearances and three Pro Bowls, Collinsworth retired and began a very successful career in broadcasting.

"Cris has a natural style that is approachable, practical and straightforward," Barrett added. "Such attributes are perfectly suited for building our company's brand and enhancing connections between our field agents and their customers and prospects. This partnership with Cris is a significant part of Western & Southern's efforts to expand and grow our efforts to serve middle-income Americans."

Plans are yet to be finalized, but Western & Southern is planning to develop marketing materials and promotional programs during the summer that it expects to introduce during the 2013 Western & Southern Open in August.

About Western & Southern Financial Group

Beginning as The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company in 1888 in Cincinnati, Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is marking its 125^th anniversary in business and is now a Fortune 500 diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned and managed in excess of $60 billion as of March 31, 2013. Western & Southern's six life insurance subsidiaries (The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western-Southern Life Assurance Company, Columbus Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company, The Lafayette Life Insurance Company and National Integrity Life Insurance Company) maintain the following financial strength ratings: Standard & Poor's AA+ Very Strong (currently the highest rating held by any life insurance company and making Western & Southern one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world), A.M. Best A+ Superior, Fitch AA Very Strong and Moody's¹ Aa3 Excellent. All of Western & Southern's life insurance companies have a Comdex Ranking of 97. Other member companies include Eagle Realty Group, LLC; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.;²IFS Financial Services, Inc.; Peppertree Partners LLC; ²Touchstone Advisors, Inc.;²Touchstone Securities, Inc.;³W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.; ³ and W&S Financial Group Distributors, Inc. For more information on the Western & Southern family of companies, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Open (www.wsopen.com) tennis tournament, a premier event in the U.S. Open Series featuring the world's top-ranked professional male and female players.

1 Lafayette Life is not rated by Moody's.
2 A registered investment advisor.
3 A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.
For current ratings, please visit http://www.westernsouthern.com/industry.asp.

SOURCE Western & Southern Financial Group