CINCINNATI, July 26 -- The Western and Southern Financial Group, a life insurance company, issued the following news release:

As part of a multi-year commitment to fund the building of eight homes with Habitat for Humanity for Greater Cincinnati (HFHGC), Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is kicking off the building of its fourth home on August 12 at 11 a.m. at 910 Voss Street, Cincinnati, OH 45205.

"Through our business and philanthropic endeavors, Western & Southern has formed partnerships to help secure individual self-reliance through programs that promote financial stability," said John F. Barrett, president, chairman and chief executive officer of Western & Southern. "Habitat is one of those partnerships, and we couldn't be more pleased to help this deserving family achieve their dream of homeownership."

The family includes parents Luis and Gabrielle Munoz and their seven sons. Two of the sons currently live separately from their parents because their current rental home is too small. Five of the boys suffer from Fabry's disease and struggle with medical problems as a result. Luis Munoz is employed through Ironworker Local 44 while Gabrielle Munoz is home raising their children. "We are always there for each other, and our motto is 'We are Team Munoz!'" said Luis Munoz.

In attendance at the kick-off celebration will be the Munoz family, Kim Chiodi, Western & Southern senior vice president of public relations and corporate communications, and Western & Southern associates who will be volunteering to help build the home.

"Habitat's vision to ensure that everyone has a decent, affordable place to live would not be possible without partners like Western & Southern," said Ed Lee, HFHGC president and chief executive officer. "We're grateful for a partnership that has provided critical volunteer and financial resources to build homes for eight Tristate families."

About Western & Southern Financial Group

Founded in Cincinnati in 1888 as The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company, Western & Southern Financial Group, Inc. (Western & Southern), a Fortune 500 company, is now the parent company of a group of diversified financial services businesses. Its assets owned ($45.5 billion) and managed ($22.3 billion) total $67.8 billion as of March 31, 2017. Western & Southern is one of the strongest life insurance groups in the world. Its 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 very strong financial ratings and a Comdex Ranking of 96. Other member companies include Eagle Realty Group, LLC; Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc.s; IFS Financial Services, Inc.; Peppertree Partners LLCs; Touchstone Advisors, Inc.s; Touchstone Securities, Inc.²; W&S Brokerage Services, Inc.²; 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), a premier event in the U.S. Open Series played each August by the world's top-ranked professional male and female tennis players.

s A registered investment advisor.

² A registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC.

For current ratings, please visit http://www.westernsouthern.com/industry.asp.

About Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati (http://habitatcincinnati.org/) is a non-profit Christian housing ministry that seeks to build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Since 1986, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati has built, renovated, or repaired more than 595 homes throughout a nine-county region including Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren counties in Ohio; Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties in Kentucky; and Dearborn and Ohio counties in Indiana. It has also contributed to building 862 homes globally in Armenia, Cambodia, El Salvador, and Kenya. Habitat is dedicated both locally and globally to construct, rehabilitate and preserve homes; advocate for fair and just housing policies; and provide training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a” (Excellent) of the property/casualty (P/C) and life/health (L/H) members of Horace Mann Educators Corporation (HMEC) (headquartered in Springfield, IL). Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of “bbb” (Good) of HMEC and the associated Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings (Long-Term IRs). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed list of the subsidiaries and Long-Term IRs.)

The ratings reflect HMEC’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM).

HMEC’s Long-Term ICR is driven by the group’s very strong balance sheet strength assessment, which is supported by its strongest risk-adjusted capitalization, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), and utilization of highly rated reinsurers with a strong level of reinsurance catastrophe protection. However, these positive factors are offset partially by restricted fungibility of capital as excess capital rests within the operating entities and a higher allocation to less liquid asset classes, and structured securities, along with lower-rated investment-grade bonds. The group entered into two separate agreements with Medical Mutual of Ohio to acquire Employee Services, LLC and Reserve National Insurance Company (RNIC), and to reinsure MedMutual Life Insurance Company’s group life and disability business. The transaction is modest relative to HMEC’s overall operations, and AM Best does not expect it to affect the organization’s balance sheet strength materially.

HMEC benefits from a well-diversified operating profile within P/C, life and supplemental benefit business segments. Overall results have been positive over the recent five-year period, with the group generating consistently growing earnings in each of the past five quarters. Strong net investment income continues to boost overall earnings. Significant rate and non-rate underwriting actions within the auto and property lines of business have contributed to significant improvements in overall operating results. The agreement to acquire RNIC is expected to be accretive immediately in 2027, strengthening the company’s earnings profile. While the transaction is expected to impact the supplemental block of business materially, the overall impact is not expected to influence the opinion of the group’s operating performance, which remains as adequate.

HMEC maintains a neutral business profile through a strong market position within its niche and name brand recognition within the educator’s market and policyholder loyalty. These advantages provide cross-marketing opportunities between P/C product lines, as well as life, annuity and supplemental products. The group operates in target market competing with a number of national providers of auto, home, and life. The group’s business is expected to receive a diversification benefit with the acquisition of RNIC contributing to the supplemental block of business.

The group operates under a formal ERM framework, which is appropriate for the scope and complexity of the group’s risk profile. Within Horace Mann, ERM is an ongoing assessment process used to identify, manage and/or mitigate risk, which continues to influence the company’s strategy and direction. The group employs an extensive reinsurance program with high-quality reinsurers. Reinsurance is purchased at the operating entity level and tailored to its specific business segment.

The FSR of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of “a” (Excellent) have been affirmed with stable outlooks for the following P/C and L/H subsidiaries of Horace Mann Educators Corporation:

• Horace Mann Insurance Company
• Horace Mann Property & Casualty Insurance Company
• Horace Mann Life Insurance Company
• Teachers Insurance Company
• National Teachers Associates Life Insurance Company
• Madison National Life Insurance Company, Inc.
• NTA Life Insurance Company of New York

The following Long-Term IRs have been affirmed with stable outlooks:

Horace Mann Educators Corporation—

--“bbb” (Good) on $300 million 7.25 % senior unsecured notes, due 2028

--“bbb” (Good) on $300 million 4.7% senior unsecured notes, due 2030

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best's Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2026 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260925314949/en/

Michael Vallario
Financial Analyst

+1 908 882 2408

[email protected]

Edin Imsirovic
Director

+1 908 882 1903

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 882 2310

[email protected]

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 882 2318

[email protected]

Source: AM Best