Press Room

Press Release

For Immediate Release - 04/07/2008

AXA EQUITABLE HELPS AMERICANS SECURE THEIR FINANCIAL FUTURE WITH MORE AFFORDABLE LAPSE PROTECTION COVERAGE

New York - April 7, 2008 - In today's uncertain economy, many Americans seek financial guarantees. AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company announced today that it's making it easier for Americans to secure their financial future, by offering more competitive rates in approved jurisdictions on its Athena Universal Life^SM with a built-in Lapse Protection Rider (Athena UL^SM-LPR) product. The announcement was made today by Claude Methot, Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer.

Athena UL^SM- Lapse Protection Rider - When Guarantees Matter Most

Athena UL^SM-LPR can provide a guaranteed death benefit for an affordable guaranteed premium that may often be less expensive than whole life insurance. The Lapse Protection Rider, which is automatically included in every Athena UL^SM-LPR policy, ensures coverage will not lapse for a specific period of time - even if the policy's account value falls to zero. As long as certain requirements are met, the insurance protection can last up to a lifetime - guaranteed.

"The Lapse Protection Rider is designed for the policyholder who wants to be in control of his or her budget now and in the future," said Mr. Methot. "Today, we've enhanced Athena UL^SM-LPR by offering more competitive rates in 'short-pay' situations, in which the policyholder makes larger but a limited number of planned premium payments in early policy years, rather than smaller payments over a longer period. In essence, we're making it more attractive for many people to lock-in their guarantees sooner."

With an Athena UL^SM-LPR policy, premiums are guaranteed not to increase, regardless of changes in interest rates or policy charges, so long as certain requirements are met. The Lapse Protection Rider alleviates the inherent premium payment "sensitivity" associated with current interest crediting rates, cost of insurance charges and other non-guaranteed policy expenses traditional universal life policies have. With an Athena UL^SM-LPR, the premium requirements can't be increased by AXA Equitable for any reason.

Guarantees of premiums or duration of coverage can be adversely impacted by policyholder actions, such as changing planned premium payments, paying premiums late or taking loans or withdrawals. There are costs associated with the Lapse Protection Rider.

Optional Rider Helps Protect Against High Costs of Long-Term Care.

Depending on current and anticipated future needs, the Athena UL^SM-LPR product also offers a choice of optional riders for an additional cost, including a Long-Term Care Services^SM Rider. Available for a fee to people between the ages of 20 and 70 purchasing the AXA Equitable Athena UL^SM-LPR product, the Long-Term Care Services^SM Rider functions as an acceleration of the life insurance policy's death benefit to assist those who become chronically ill and receive qualified long-term care services. When electing the Long-Term Care Services^SM Rider, the policyowner chooses from a certain benefit percentage of the policy's face amount, reflecting the maximum monthly payments to be received if he or she becomes chronically ill.

If You Don't Use It, You Don't Lose It

"Long-term care insurance can require expensive premiums, even if it's never used," says Methot. "Our Athena UL^SM-LPR /Long-Term Care Services^SM Rider combination offers an affordable, hybrid solution to the 'use it or lose it' dilemma." Should the need arise, the Long-Term Care Services^SM Rider accelerates the life insurance death benefit, defraying the burden of long-term care medical expenses and protecting retirement assets from being depleted. The death benefit is reduced by the amount accelerated. But, if long term care is never needed, the full income tax-free death benefit is paid to the beneficiaries.

Athena UL^SM-LPR (Policy forms #07-100 or state variations) is issued by and is a service mark of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, New York, NY. The Long-Term Care Services Rider may not be available in all states.

All guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

About AXA Equitable

In business since 1859, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company is a leading financial protection company and one of the nation's premier providers of life insurance, annuity, and investment products and services. AXA Equitable's assets under management totaled $888.6 billion as of December 31, 2007.

The company's products and services are distributed to individuals and business owners through its retail distribution channel AXA Advisors, LLC; to the financial services market through its wholesale distribution channel, AXA Distributors, LLC; and to corporations and their employees through its corporate distribution channel, Corporate Markets.

AXA Distributors, the company's wholesale division, makes available AXA Equitable's proprietary life insurance products and services to brokerage general agents (BGAs), broker/dealers, and independent financial planner producer groups. These products include Athena Universal Life and Athena Survivorship Life; Incentive Life^SM (IL) Series, including IL Legacy and Survivorship Incentive Life '02; and the AXA Equitable Level Term^SM and Return of Premium Term^SM Series.

AXA Equitable, a subsidiary of AXA Financial Inc., is part of the global AXA Group, a worldwide leader in financial protection strategies and wealth management. AXA Group's operations are geographically diverse, with major operations in Europe, North America, and the Asia/Pacific region. AXA Group is listed as the 15th largest company in the world on the 2007 Fortune Global 500 list (based on revenues). It had $1.87 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2007. Listed on the Paris Stock Exchange, the AXA ordinary share trades under the symbol AXA. The AXA American Depositary Share is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AXA.

While a part of the AXA Group, AXA Equitable is solely responsible for its life insurance and annuity obligations.

AXA Equitable is a sponsor of the Variable Annuities Knowledge Center (www.variableannuityfacts.org), an online resource aimed at helping consumers understand the facts surrounding variable annuities. The Variable Annuities Knowledge Center is operated by a stand-alone, non-profit organization and is overseen by an independent advisory board.