The Principal Financial Group Expands Worksite Offerings With Voluntary Disability; Group Voluntary Disability Insurance Provides Added Employee Income Protection

Business Wire, March 13, 2006

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Approximately one in three workers over the age of 30 will become disabled for at least three months at some point during their career,(1) making disability insurance one of the most important, but often overlooked employee benefits. Added to a growing suite of voluntary worksite products, group voluntary short-term and long-term disability insurance from the Principal Financial Group(R) gives employees financial protection against the unexpected.

"We're noticing an increased demand for voluntary benefits and particularly for voluntary disability benefits," said Michael Scheetz, disability product director for the Principal Financial Group. "Our group voluntary disability insurance is positioned to help employers take advantage of this trend by offering well-rounded benefits, packaged with superior administration and claims management services."

Group voluntary disability insurance works by replacing a portion of income for employees who are unable to work or who have reduced income due to time away from work because of an illness or injury. At no cost to the employer, employees receive a group rate and pay for the benefit through convenient payroll deductions.

Because all employers are different, group voluntary disability builds on a wide range of disability benefit options so employers can tailor a program to fit their individual needs while keeping costs down. For example, an employer may choose to fully fund a long-term program to ensure employees' long-lasting needs are met while offering a voluntary short-term disability program to give employees an opportunity to protect themselves from onset of injury or illness until long-term coverage becomes available. Different solutions can also be offered to different groups of employees within the same company and some employers may choose to provide voluntary disability insurance through the personalized needs-based enrollment experience of Principal Work Secure(SM).

"We already offer voluntary life and dental products, aiding employers in creating a competitive benefit plan to attract and retain employees without increasing benefit costs," Scheetz noted. "Voluntary disability is the latest addition to our broad range of flexible benefit offerings."

About Principal Work Secure

Principal Work Secure partners a salaried Employee Benefits Specialist from the Principal Financial Group with the broker and the employer to put together a comprehensive enrollment strategy for the voluntary benefits the employer chooses to offer employees. Employees are then provided with access to a team of insurance and financial professionals at the workplace. Using an interactive needs analysis tool, these financial professionals help employees identify gaps in insurance and financial protection and then prioritize and select the most appropriate type of voluntary benefits both inside and outside of the group program.

For information about group voluntary disability insurance from The Principal, contact your local Principal Financial Group representative.

About Principal Financial Group

The Principal Financial Group(R) (The Principal (R))(2) is a leader in offering businesses, individuals and institutional clients a wide range of financial products and services, including retirement and investment services, life and health insurance and banking through its diverse family of financial services companies. A member of the Fortune 500, the Principal Financial Group has $195.2 billion in assets under management(3) and serves some 15.6 million customers worldwide from offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America and the United States. Principal Financial Group, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PFG. For more information, visit www.principal.com.

Insurance products and services issued by Principal Life Insurance Company.

(1) Health Insurance Association of America, November 2004

(2) "The Principal Financial Group" and "The Principal" are registered service marks of Principal Financial Services, Inc., a member of the Principal Financial Group.

(3) As of December 31, 2005