ASSURANT INC

21. Stock Based Compensation

In accordance with the guidance on share-based compensation, the Company recognized stock-based compensation costs based on the grant date fair value. For the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized compensation costs net of a 5% per year estimated forfeiture rate on a pro-rated basis over the remaining vesting period.

Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan

Under the Assurant, Inc. 2017 Long-Term Equity Incentive Plan (the “ALTEIP”), as amended and restated in November 2023, the Company is authorized to issue up to 1,840,112 new shares of the Company’s common stock to employees, officers and non-employee directors. Under the ALTEIP, the Company may grant awards based on shares of its common stock, including stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock (including performance shares), unrestricted stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), performance units (also known as performance share units or “PSUs”) and dividend equivalents. All share-based grants are awarded under the ALTEIP.

The Compensation and Talent Committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”) awards RSUs and PSUs annually. RSUs and PSUs are promises to issue actual shares of common stock at the end of a vesting period or performance period. Under the ALTEIP and the related equity grant policy, the Company’s CEO is authorized by the Board to grant common stock, restricted stock and RSUs to employees other than the Company’s Section 16 officers as CEO Equity Awards and On Cycle ALTEIP Awards. For the CEO Equity Awards, the Compensation Committee recommends total annual funding and the awards are expressed as a dollar amount converted into shares as of each grant date. Restricted stock and RSUs granted under the CEO Equity Awards program may have different vesting periods.

Restricted Stock Units

The fair value of RSUs is estimated using the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. The RSUs granted to employees under the ALTEIP are based on salary grade and performance and generally vest one-third each year over athree-year period. RSUs receive dividend equivalents in cash during the restricted period and do not have voting rights during the restricted period. RSUs granted to non-employee directors also vest one-third each year over athree-year period; however, issuance of vested shares and payment of dividend equivalents is deferred until separation from Board service.

A summary of the Company’s outstanding RSUs is presented below:

(1)The weighted average grant date fair value for RSUs granted in 2022 and 2021 was $172.46 and $143.20, respectively.

(2)The total fair value of RSUs vested was $29.9 million, $47.0 million and $47.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The following table shows a summary of RSU compensation expense during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

As of December 31, 2023, there was $19.6 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding RSUs. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.99 years.

Performance Share Units

The number of shares of common stock a participant will receive upon vesting of a PSU award is contingent upon the Company’s performance with respect to selected metrics, as identified below. The payout levels can vary between 0% and 200% (maximum) of the target (100%) ALTEIP award amount, based on the Company’s level of performance against the selected metrics. PSUs accrue dividend equivalents during the performance period based on a target payout and will be paid in cash at the end of the performance period based on the actual number of shares issued.

The Compensation Committee has establishedtwo equally weighted performance measures for PSU awards:

•Total shareholder return relative to the S&P 500 Index (“market condition”), defined as appreciation in the Company’s common stock plus dividend yield to stockholders and will be measured by the performance of the Company relative to the S&P 500 Index over thethree-year performance period.

•Adjusted earnings per diluted common share, excluding reportable catastrophes (“performance condition”) is a Company-specific profitability metric and is defined as the Company’s adjusted earnings, excluding reportable catastrophes, divided by the fully diluted weighted average common shares outstanding. This metric is an absolute metric that is measured against athree-year cumulative target established by the Compensation Committee at the award date and is not tied to the performance of peer companies. Prior to 2023, net operating income per diluted common share, excluding reportable catastrophes, was used as the company specific profitability metric.

A summary of the Company’s outstanding PSUs is presented below:

(1)The weighted average grant date fair value for PSUs granted in 2022 and 2021 was $217.33 and $148.04, respectively.

(2)The total fair value of PSUs vested was $25.8 million, $42.8 million and $24.6 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

(3)Represents the change in PSUs issued based upon the attainment of performance goals established by the Company.

PSU grants above represent initial target awards and do not reflect potential increases or decreases resulting from the Company’s level of performance against the selected metrics to be determined at the end of the prospective performance period.

The fair value of the performance condition was estimated using the fair market value of a share of the Company’s common stock at the date of grant. The fair value of the market condition was estimated on the date of grant using a Monte Carlo simulation model, which utilizes multiple variables that determine the probability of satisfying the market condition stipulated in the award. Expected volatilities were based on the historical prices of the Company’s common stock and peer group, the expected term was assumed to equal the average of the vesting period of the PSUs and the risk-free rate was based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant.

The following table shows a summary of PSU compensation expense during the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:

As of December 31, 2023, there was $34.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to outstanding PSUs. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 0.94 years.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), the Company is authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 new shares of common stock to employees who are participants in the ESPP. The ESPP allows eligible employees to contribute, through payroll deductions, portions of their after-tax compensation in each offering period toward the purchase of shares of the Company’s common stock. There aretwo offering periods during the year (January 1 through June 30 and July 1 through December 31) and shares of common stock are purchased at the end of each offering period at 90% of the lower of the closing price of the common stock on the first or last day of the offering period. Participants must be employed on the last trading day of the offering period in order to purchase shares of common stock under the ESPP. The maximum number of shares of common stock that can be purchased is 5,000 per employee. Participants’ contributions are limited to a maximum contribution of $7.5 thousand per offering period, or $15.0 thousand per year.

The ESPP is offered to individuals who are scheduled to work a certain number of hours per week, have been continuously employed for at leastsix months by the start of the offering period, are not temporary employees (classified as temporary and employed less than 12 months) and have not been on a leave of absence for more than 90 days immediately preceding the offering period.

In January 2024, the Company issued 65,049 shares of common stock at a discounted price of $113.26 for the offering period of July 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023. In January 2023, the Company issued 65,508 shares of common stock at a discounted price of $112.55 for the offering period of July 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.

In July 2023, the Company issued 66,306 shares of common stock to employees at a discounted price of $113.15 for the offering period of January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023. In July 2022, the Company issued 50,385 shares of common stock to employees at a discounted price of $140.64 for the offering period of January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022.

The compensation expense recorded related to the ESPP was $3.1 million, $3.0 million and $2.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. The related income tax benefit for disqualified disposition was $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021.

The fair value of each award under the ESPP was estimated at the beginning of each offering period using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and assumptions in the table below. Expected volatilities are based on implied volatilities from traded options on the Company’s common stock and the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The risk-free rate for periods within the contractual life of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The dividend yield is based on the current annualized dividend and common stock price as of the grant date.

Non-Stock Based Incentive Plans

Deferred Compensation

The Company’s deferred compensation programs consist of the AIP, the ASIC and the ADC. The AIP and the ASIC provided key employees the ability to exchange a portion of their compensation for options to purchase certain third-party mutual funds. The AIP and the ASIC were frozen in December 2004 and no additional contributions can be made to either the

AIP or the ASIC. Effective March 1, 2005 and amended and restated on January 1, 2008, the ADC Plan was established in order to comply with the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the “Jobs Act”) and Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “IRC”). The ADC provides key employees the ability to defer a portion of their eligible compensation to be notionally invested in a variety of mutual funds. Deferrals and withdrawals under the ADC are intended to be fully compliant with the Jobs Act definition of eligible compensation and distribution requirements.