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BUSINESS WIRE -- Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. and the Principal Financial Group announced the signing of a joint panel leasing agreement that greatly increases the number of Participating Provider Organization (PPO) dentists available to each company's members.

This groundbreaking collaboration -- the first of its kind between two major dental insurers -- takes effect March 1. Members of Ameritas and The Principal dental PPO plans can now choose to seek care from any dentist within either company's dental PPO network, which when combined will total more than 40,000 dental care providers.

"The Principal and Ameritas are committed to enhancing customer services while maximizing benefits to policyholders and members," said Deanna Strable, second vice president of dental products at The Principal. "Our agreement allows both companies to offer greater choice and bring PPO services to new areas. Together, we now have one of the largest dental networks in the nation." Ameritas Group Dental Division President David C. Moore, LLIF, agrees. "In today's increasingly competitive environment, we have to keep finding creative and cost-effective solutions that meet our business needs as well as the needs of our customers.

"This business relationship helps us fulfill that mission by allowing us to share PPO resources with one of the industry's most respected companies. Since Ameritas and The Principal each retain ownership of their respective network, both companies gain the advantages of being able to offer expanded PPO service, with neither company incurring the high costs associated with creating a new panel," said Moore.

Another benefit of the arrangement: Together the two companies' PPO dental networks reach most states in the U.S., allowing each insurer to expand sales of its managed care dental products into new geographic territories.

"We have aggressively grown our dental block over the last few years. But a larger geographic reach makes our products more attractive to more employers, specifically those with multiple locations," said Strable. "It would take us a number of years to develop our own network of this size. This agreement really advances our expansion plan and will allow us the opportunity to expand faster in both current and new locations as we move forward."

Ameritas Group Dental, a division of Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. (founded 1887), an Ameritas Acacia Company, offers group dental and vision products nationwide. In New York, products are offered through First Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. of New York. Ameritas' complete line of flexible and affordable dental solutions includes managed care, traditional indemnity, small group and voluntary products. Ameritas also offers expertise in dental block consolidation, partnering with companies that wish to exit the dental marketplace, improve the financial performance of their existing dental business, or diversify their product line and boost sales through the addition of Ameritas' enhanced dental product portfolio. Other Ameritas Acacia products and services include life insurance, annuities, mutual funds, banking, retirement strategies and investments.

The Principal Financial Group is a leading global financial institution offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance, and mortgage banking. Its flagship and largest member, Principal Life Insurance Company (The Principal(R))(1), founded in 1879, is the ninth largest U.S. life insurance company based on 1999 statutory assets. More employers choose The Principal for their 401(k) plans than any other bank, mutual fund or insurance company in the United States(2). The Principal Financial Group has more than $117 billion in assets under management and serves more than 11 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States.

For more information about the companies, including ratings from independent analysts as well as products and services, visit:

Ameritas: www.YourDentalSolutions.com (in New York, www.NY.YourDentalSolutions.com), www.ameritasacacia.com

The Principal: www.principal.com