2008-11-07 23:55:01 -

- Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (Reliance Standard), a leading insurance carrier specializing in flexible employee benefits, recently welcomed Marie Killian as Director of Health and Productivity Management (HPM). Killian will be responsible for developing strategies to integrate services and information across absence, disability and health services delivery.

Killian previously served as Integrated Health and Productivity Management Practice Leader

for Trion, an employee benefits consulting firm in suburban Philadelphia. She has more than 20 years of experience in the benefits field including 13 years as a vice president at Aon Consulting.

"Marie's vast knowledge of the employee benefits and health management sectors will be instrumental as Reliance Standard enters the HPM marketplace," said Greg Esemplare, Assistant Vice President, Integrated Employee Benefits Sales. "Reliance Standard is already an industry leader in integrated employee absence management, and we have invested significant resources in research and product development for our launch into the HPM market space. We are very fortunate to have a professional of Marie's caliber to direct our efforts."

HPM is based on a "culture of health" principle that focuses the delivery of employee disability, absence and health benefits on the worker's health and ability to quickly return to the activities of daily living, including work.

"Health and Productivity Management is particularly important in today's insurance marketplace because of rising healthcare costs, absences and health management issues that affect business performance," said Killian. "By streamlining absence management and employee leave with health delivery, we will help companies improve productivity and generate better outcomes."

Reliance Standard specializes in integrated employee benefits including long and short-term disability, group life, dental and vision insurance, and end-to-end employee leave management. The new HPM practice will further extend this integration to include health and employee wellness programs.

Killian earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts degrees from West Chester University. She also holds a Juris Doctor degree from Temple University Law School where she was an associate research editor of the Temple Law Review. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and is a frequent speaker at conferences on the topics of integrated health and productivity and wellness.

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company (www.reliancestandard.com) is a leading insurance carrier specializing in innovative and flexible employee benefits solutions for employer groups of all sizes. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:DFG), Reliance Standard offers coverage for group life, group disability income, limited medical, accidental death and dismemberment, integrated disability, group dental and vision. Reliance Standard markets these solutions through independent brokers and agents. Rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best, Reliance Standard celebrated its centennial year in 2006.

Reliance Standard
David Gittelman, 267-256-3741
david.gittelman@rsli.com