1. 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 2011- 4126

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Capitalization Ratio Company Ranked by 5-Year Average20062007200820092010Average 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 Average20062007200820092010Average 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.

6. Company2005-2010 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.

7. Berkshire Life and Guardian “top of the stack” Staying Power CompanyComdex (1) 2010 Capitalization Ratio (2) 2005-2010 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 Insurance10012.5%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 2011 2. 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

8. 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 2011. 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.