OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – July 19, 2007 – American Fidelity Assurance Company, one of the largest life and health insurance companies headquartered in Oklahoma City, has been named one of Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group of top performing insurance companies.

Each year, Ward Group studies the financial performance of more than 800 life and health insurance companies in the United States and identifies the top performers. Each company that makes the list has passed safety and security screenings and has achieved superior performance during the previous five years.

This ranking places American Fidelity Assurance Company in the top 50 of all life and health insurance companies analyzed.

Ward Group is a consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry and the leading provider of industry benchmarking and best practices services, with expertise in staffing level analysis and expense management. The Ward's 50 benchmarks are available in Ward's Results, an insurance industry financial reference series. A complete list of the Ward’s 50 Benchmark Group is available at www.wardinc.com.

About American Fidelity Assurance Company
American Fidelity Assurance Company is a third-generation, family-owned organization providing insurance products and financial services to education employees, trade association members and companies throughout the United States and across the globe. Founded in 1960, it has grown to become one of the largest private, family-owned life and health insurance companies in the United States. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, American Fidelity has more than 1,500 employees in 26 locations across the nation. It was named to Fortune magazine's 2008 list of the 100 Best Companies to Work for in America for the fifth straight year and also is on Computerworld magazine's list of the "Best Places to Work in IT." In addition, it has been ranked by Training Magazine as one of the Top 125 Companies in America for employee training. Since 1982, American Fidelity has been rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, one of the nation's leading insurance rating services.