Funeral Planning Option Now Available to Aetna Customers

HARTFORD, Conn., July 09, 2012 —  Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced today that it has added funeral planning as part of its innovative Aetna Life Essentials^SM program, a suite of value-added benefits and services included in Life insurance plans for all customers. Through a strategic agreement with Everest Funeral Planning & Concierge Services, members are offered a wide range of choices to assist them in making decisions and managing the expenses associated with funeral planning. Aetna is currently one of only a few carriers to offer Everest Funeral Planning & Concierge Services as part of its standard Life offering, now available to Life insurance customers having 51 or more employees as new Life policies take effect and when existing policies renew with Aetna

“Adding funeral planning is a natural extension of the financial, legal, emotional and physical support we provide directly to Aetna Life insurance members,” said Scott Beeman, head of Group Life and Long Term Care for Aetna. “We take a holistic approach, offering discount programs to members while living and substantial support at the end-of-life. We also provide ongoing services to beneficiary and family members.”

Aetna offerings provide information and access to resources on a variety of issues including funeral costs, financial advice, estate planning, and legal services. These services deliver greater value to employers and employees by providing a simpler, more compassionate way to plan for end-of-life.

“Aetna social workers reach out proactively to members and their families during an extremely emotional and confusing time, providing the kind of care that makes a real difference in the lives of our members and their families,” Beeman continued. “By adding Everest to our Aetna Life Essentials^SM program, we are able to significantly strengthen our service offerings.”

Everest Advisors offer comprehensive end-of-life planning consultation including:

• Price comparisons
• Online planning tools
• A nationwide database of funeral prices
• Negotiation Assistance – Advisors negotiate funeral service pricing with local funeral homes
• Family Assistance and Plan Implementation – Advisors work with the family to understand their wishes and then communicate the personal funeral plan to the funeral home

The concierge services are available to the employee, their spouse or domestic partner and their children up to age twenty-six.

About Everest Funeral & Concierge Planning 
Everest, the first company of its kind, set out to simplify and streamline the funeral planning process by offering comprehensive end-of-life planning services, both as an advance planning option or at the time of need.

Everest works with its clients to help guide them through the most informed decisions about all funeral-related issues and then puts those wishes into action.

Everest works for its clients, not funeral homes and is an impartial consumer advocate, Everest does not sell funeral goods or services, nor does it receive any commissions from funeral homes or other service providers in the funeral industry.

Everest (www.everestfuneral.com) is headquartered in Houston, Texas with operating centers located in Boise, Idaho, Des Moines, Iowa, Houston, Texas and Toronto, Ontario.

About Aetna 
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 36.1 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services and health information technology services. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.