Date: March 18, 2011
HEALTHMARKETS, INC. ANNOUNCES CEO SUCCESSION
Kenneth J. Fasola to become President and Chief Executive Officer; Phillip J. Hildebrand to be appointed non-executive Chairman of the Board for HealthMarkets, Inc.
DALLAS/FORT WORTH – March 18, 2011 – The Board of Directors of HealthMarkets, Inc. (http://www.healthmarketsinc.com) announced the appointment of current President and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth J. Fasola as the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, effective April 1, 2011. At that time, Phillip J. Hildebrand will resign as Chief Executive Officer of the company, but will continue his service on the Board of Directors and assume the role of non-executive Chairman of HealthMarkets, Inc.
Chinh Chu, Chairman of HealthMarkets, Inc.’s Board of Directors said, “We were extremely fortunate to have Phil Hildebrand lead this Company for the last three years. Phil has provided invaluable leadership during the agency’s transition to an independent, career-agent distribution company representing many of the industry’s leading carriers while also successfully guiding the Company through the first stages of the implementation of national health care reform.”
“Phil has been an outstanding leader and has Insphere positioned for success in today’s reshaped market environment,” continued Chu. “He will remain on HealthMarkets’ Board and has been appointed non-executive Chairman, where he will continue to provide invaluable strategic insight to the organization.”
Hildebrand said, “It has been a pleasure to lead this organization into a new direction filled with potential for growth. I leave with a real sense of pride in what has been achieved, also with great confidence in Ken, the leadership team and this field force’s ability to pursue the opportunities that lie ahead.”
Fasola said, "The strategic focus of HealthMarkets, Inc. on distribution and the supplemental insurance market aligns with its core capabilities and gives us a unique position in the marketplace. When that is combined with a strong management and network of experienced sales agents, I believe the Company is poised for exponential growth. I look forward to continuing to work closely with Phil and the management team to leverage the power of this organization for our agents, customers, business partners and investors.”
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About HealthMarkets®
HealthMarkets® is the brand name for products underwritten and issued by the insurance subsidiaries of HealthMarkets, Inc. Products provided under the HealthMarkets brand are designed to provide personalized protection to individuals, families and the self-employed. For further information regarding products offered by the HealthMarkets’ Companies, visit www.healthmarkets.com. The administrative offices of HealthMarkets, Inc. and its underwriting companies are located in North Richland Hills, Texas. Products are marketed through independent agents in sales offices across the country. For more information about the HealthMarkets Companies visit www.healthmarketsinc.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, recently enacted national health care reform legislation, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations; changes in government regulation that could increase the costs of compliance or cause us to discontinue marketing our products, or otherwise cease doing business, in certain states; failure to comply with extensive state and federal regulations, which could subject us to fines, penalties and suspensions; current or future state and federal regulations which could impede our ability to obtain effective leads and adversely affect our business; compliance with restrictions on customer privacy and information security, including taking steps to ensure compliance by our business associates with HIPPA; failure to comply with the terms of the regulatory settlement agreement arising out of the multi-state market conduct examination of our principal insurance subsidiaries; loss of business to competitors offering competitive products at lower prices; failure to recruit and retain agents, which could prevent us from competing successfully; changes in our relationship with membership associations that make available to their members our health insurance products and/or changes in the laws and regulations governing so-called “association group” insurance; negative publicity regarding our business practices and about the health insurance industry in general; failure to secure and maintain cost-effective healthcare provider network contracts, which may result in a loss of insureds and/or higher medical costs; our inability to obtain funds from our insurance subsidiaries, which may cause us to experience reduced cash flow, which could affect the Company’s ability to pay its obligations to creditors as they become due; any inability to service and repay the material amount of debt we have outstanding and/or comply with restrictive covenants related to this debt; failure to accommodate redemption requests by agents participating in our agent stock ownership plan, which could result in dissatisfaction and attrition among our contracted independent agents; current unfavorable economic conditions, which could adversely affect our business; a decrease in the value of our investments, which could be influenced by varying economic and market conditions; adverse securities and credit market conditions, which could have a material adverse affect on our liquidity or our ability to obtain credit on acceptable terms; failure of our insurance subsidiaries to maintain their current insurance ratings; failure to maintain enough statutory capital to and surplus to continue to write business; failure to accurately estimate medical claims and health care costs; the need to increase reserves due to inadequacy of reserves maintained for current and future claims; litigation or settlements thereof, which may result in financial losses or harm our reputation and may divert management resources; acquisitions, divestitures and other significant transactions which may adversely affect our business; the success of our Insphere Insurance Solutions business is uncertain; our insurance subsidiaries may lose business to competitors whose products are sold by Insphere and its agents, and the loss of our healthiest customers would present adverse selection risks; Insphere faces certain risks related to its relationships with non-affiliated insurance carriers; failure of our information systems to provide timely and accurate information; our reliance on outsourcing arrangements, which could subject us to risk and may disrupt or adversely affect our operations; natural disasters could severely damage or interrupt our systems and operations; inability to retain key executives or appropriately manage succession could adversely affect our business; and the other risk factors set forth in the reports filed by the Company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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