The first step in choosing a DI policy … Is Choosing the Right DI Company Individual disability income products are underwritten and issued by Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, Pittsfield, MA, a wholly owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. 8578A

Step 1: Choose the Right DI Company Do no harm, Choose a carrier with the strength and stability to fulfill promises. Key measures of financial strength –Ratings and Comdex –Capitalization Ratio –Company Surplus Growth

Source: Vital Signs April 2011 Please consult with your financial advisor for complete details concerning the ratings stated above. Some of the ratings reflect the performance of the parent company and/or other entities related to the issuing insurer. As of April 2011 A.M. Best Company S & PMoody’sFitchComdex Northwestern Mutual Insurance Company A++AAAAaaAAA100 Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America A++AA+N/A 99 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America A++AA+Aa2AA+98 Massachusetts Mutual Life InsuranceA++AA+Aa2 AA+98 Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanyA+AA-Aa3AA-95 Principal Life Insurance CompanyA+ AAa3AA-92 Standard Insurance CompanyAAA-A1A+88 Union Central Life Insurance Company (UNIFI Companies) AA+N/AA+86 UNUM Life of AmericaAA- A3 A 76 Peer Ratings and Comdex

How do Berkshire Life and Guardian rank?  Among the highest ratings with each major ratings agency  Guardian’s ratings reaffirmed in 2010 by S&P, AM Best Company and Fitch Comdex is at the Core  Berkshire Life has a Comdex of 99  Guardian has a Comdex of 98  Industry experts define a Comdex as: Companies at 95 = “extremely safe” 1 Companies at 90 = safe Companies at 85 = reasonably safe 1. Richard M. Weber, MBA, CLU, AEP and Chris Hause, FSA, MAAA, CLU, Life Insurance as an Asset Class: Managing a Valuable Asset AM Best Company A++ Berkshire Life Guardian S&P AA+ Berkshire Life Guardian Moody’s Aa2 Guardian Fitch AA+ Guardian Berkshire Life is not rated by Moody’s & Fitch Ratings and Comdex Highlights

Capitalization Ratio Company Ranked by 5-Year Average Average Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America 16.9%17.6%17.8%17.7%18.2%17.6% The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America 16.1%16.3%14.7%15.9%16.1%15.8% Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance13.1%13.4%11.4%13.2%14.1%13.0% Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance13.5%13.4%11.1%11.0%12.5%12.3% Standard Insurance Company12.4%12.6%12.1%12.4%11.7%12.2% Company Ranked by 5-Year Average Average UNUM Life of America10.6%9.9%8.8%9.9%9.8% Principal Life Insurance Company7.9%7.6%8.0% 8.1%7.9% Union Central Life Insurance Company8.1%7.8%6.0%8.4%8.3%7.7% Metropolitan Life insurance Company6.3%7.7%6.9%6.7%7.0%6.9% Companies with Average Cap Ratio Over 12.0% Companies with Average Cap Ratio Under 12.0% Berkshire Life and Guardian are at the top. All information provided was obtained from each company’s statutory statements.

Company Five Year Growth in Surplus Rate Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America10.9% Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance9.1% Metropolitan Life Insurance Company*8.3% Standard Insurance Company7.5% The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America7.0% Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance6.7% Principal Life Insurance Company3.6% Union Central Life Insurance Company3.4% UNUM Life of America2.6% A key indicator of a carrier’s ability to pay future claims. Source of capital for funding future growth. Surplus Growth * Adjusted for M&A All information provided was obtained from each company’s statutory statements.

Berkshire Life and Guardian “top of the stack” Staying Power CompanyComdex (1) 2010 Capitalization Ratio (2) Five- Year Growth in Surplus Rate (2) 2010 Assets to Liabilities Ratio (2) Stock or Mutual Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America9918.2%10.9%121.3%Subsidiary of Guardian 3 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America9816.1%7.0%115.4%Mutual UNUM Life of America769.8%2.6%109.5%Stock Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company9814.1%9.1%108.7%Mutual Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance %6.7%108.7%Mutual Standard Insurance Company8811.7%7.5%108.1%Stock Union Central Life Insurance Company868.3%3.4%106.1%Stock Metropolitan Life Insurance Company957.0%8.3%104.4%Stock Principal Life Insurance Company928.1%3.6%103.7%Stock 1. Vital Signs April All information provided was obtained from each company’s statutory statements. 3. Berkshire Life Insurance Company of America, Pittsfield, MA, is a wholly owned stock subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY Stack the Staying Power

Choose the Right Company Berkshire Life/Guardian Staying Power Top Tier Comdex Rankings: 99/98 Top 1% in insurance company ratings rankings* Best in Class Capitalization Ratio:18.2%/16.1% Best in Class Surplus Growth: 10.9%/7.0% CompanyAssets as of 12/31/10 Berkshire Life Insurance Company of AmericaAdmitted Assets: $2.8 billion, Liabilities: $2.3 billion, Surplus: $0.5 billion The Guardian Life Insurance Company of AmericaAdmitted Assets: $33.2 billion, Liabilities: $28.7 billion, Surplus: $4.4 billion *Vital Signs April Berkshire Life is not rated by Moody’s or Fitch Vital Signs, a collection of published industry research, provides financial analysis of 718 participating carriers. Of those 718 companies, only 119 are rated by all four independent rating agencies; out of those 119 companies, only 12 have ratings comparable to Guardian’s; and the top four mutual life insurance companies (including Guardian) are among the TOP 1% of the 718 rated insurance companies.