Empire General is a wholly owned subsidiary of Protective Life Insurance Company. Protective Life, which was founded in 1907, has over one million customers located in all 50 states. As of April 2005, together, Empire General and Protective Life have insurer financial strength ratings of A+ (Superior, 2nd highest of 15 ratings) from A.M. Best, AA (Very Strong, 3rd highest of 21 ratings) from Standard and Poor's, and AA- (Very Strong, 4th highest of 22 ratings) from Fitch. Each of these independent ratings is based on a variety of factors, including Protective's operating performance, asset quality, financial flexibility, and capitalization.

In order to further enhance the confidence of the policyholders of Empire General in their company, the Board of Directors of Protective Life has guaranteed the policy obligations of Empire General. Therefore, in addition to the security provided to policyholders by Empire General, policyholders have the additional security provided by Protective Life Insurance Company.