September 28, 1999
New York, NY

Delphi President Sees Signs of Stronger Pricing
Robert Rosenkranz, Chairman, President & CO

Prices and demand in segments of the disability and workers'-compensation markets may be headed for better days, the head of Delphi Financial Group told insurance analysts and investors.

Renewals completed in the July 1 contract cycle showed some "pickup in top-line growth," Robert R. Rosenkranz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Delphi Financial Group Inc. said.

Rosenkranz spoke Tuesday at the life insurance segment of the CIBC World Markets conference, co-sponsored by A.M. Best Co.

"UnumProvident is on record as indicating they are seeking price increases, and we will follow," Rosenkranz said. Delphi and UnumProvident operate in some of the same disability-insurance markets.

However, Rosenkranz said his company is positioning itself as more than a workers' compensation or disability provider by highlighting its "absence management" capabilities. In that program, representatives of Delphi's Matrix unit contact clients' employees who are absent, often beginning the first day of the absence. Keeping track of those cases from beginning to end leads to higher productivity, lower costs and faster returns to work, he said.

Delphi hopes to roll out the Matrix model nationally, with some of the revenues to come from fees charged to client companies. Companies that participate should see a 15% to 25% reduction in days absent, he said.

Management owns about 50% of Delphi's stock, Rosenkranz said. "We regard the stock as incredibly cheap." But investors haven't shared Rosenkranz' enthusiasm for Delphi's stock. After reaching a one-year high of $56 a share on the New York Stock Exchange in late March, shares of Delphi Financial Group (DFG) were trading at about $30 at week's end.