In response to medical advances, Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU) announced today new individual life insurance underwriting guidelines that may offer significant reductions in premiums for applicants who have coronary artery disease (CAD). More specifically, these changes mean more competitive pricing for individuals who have recovered, stabilized, and engage in a lifestyle conducive to good cardiac health. In fact, some “best case” CAD applicants who may have received impaired risk ratings previously may now qualify for standard ratings.

“Our underwriting guidelines now make life insurance more readily available for some individuals who have been treated for coronary artery disease and offer them the opportunity to qualify for significantly lower premiums,” said Mike McFarland, vice president, Individual Life Insurance Underwriting at Prudential. “We have completely re-written our procedures.”

As an example, a 58 year-old male who is being treated for multi-vessel disease could save significantly on a Pruco Life Insurance Company Term Essential® 20 year policy with a face amount of $1 million. Previously, the lowest annual premium he could receive would be $19,465.

However, with our new underwriting standards, this same man could pay only $14,285 annually, resulting in a savings of $5,180 annually. All final offers of insurance are subject to full underwriting review, which may result in different premiums and can vary depending upon an applicant's specific and complete medical history.

Coronary artery disease, or heart disease, affects nearly 13 million Americans and is the leading cause of death of both men and women in the U.S. according to WebMD, 2006. "Life insurance applicants being treated for coronary artery disease often assume they are automatically excluded from the valuable protection of life insurance. An in-depth understanding of the medical advances surrounding coronary artery disease can lead to favorable underwriting decisions for these individuals," adds McFarland.

Prudential Financial companies, with approximately $568 billion in total assets under management as of June 30, 2006, serve individual and institutional customers worldwide and include The Prudential Insurance Company of America, one of the largest life insurance companies in the United States. These companies offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, mutual funds, annuities, pension and retirement-related services and administration, asset management, banking and trust services, real estate brokerage franchises, relocation services and, through a joint venture, retail securities brokerage services. For more information, visit Prudential's website .

Term Essential is issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company in all states except New Jersey and New York, where it is issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey. The policy form number is PLTIC-2005. The Pruco Life companies, which are Prudential Financial companies based in Newark, NJ, may have the right to contest the policy for misrepresentation or to apply a suicide clause.

Term Essential offers guaranteed level premiums for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years (premiums increase annually thereafter to age 95 (80 in New York) and are not guaranteed) and the ability to convert to permanent insurance until the earlier of the end of the level premium-paying period or age 65, but never less than 5 years. All guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuer.