Underwriting Agreement

as the Representatives of the several Underwriters

1.    Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, each of the Underwriters that:

(a)    An “automatic shelf registration statement” as defined under Rule 405 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “ Securities Act ”) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-136704) in respect of the Notes has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “ Commission ”) not earlier than three years prior to the date hereof; such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, became effective on filing; and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of such registration statement or any part thereof has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or threatened by the Commission, and no notice of objection of the Commission to the use of such registration statement or any post-effective amendment thereto pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) under the Securities Act has been received by the Company; the base prospectus filed as part of such registration statement, in the form in which it has most recently been filed with the Commission on or prior to the date of this Agreement, is hereinafter called the “ Basic Prospectus ”; the preliminary prospectus (including the preliminary prospectus supplement dated November 7, 2006) relating to the Notes filed

with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act is hereinafter called the “ Preliminary Prospectus ”; the various parts of such registration statement, including all exhibits thereto but excluding Form T-1 and including any prospectus supplement relating to the Notes that is filed with the Commission and deemed by virtue of Rule 430B under the Securities Act to be part of such registration statement, each as amended at the time such part of the registration statement became effective, are hereinafter collectively called the “ Registration Statement ”; the form of the final prospectus relating to the Notes filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act in accordance with Section 6(a) hereof is hereinafter called the “ Prospectus ”; any reference herein to the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, as of the date of such prospectus; any reference to any amendment or supplement to the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, any prospectus supplement relating to the Notes filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and any documents filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “ Exchange Act ”), and incorporated therein, in each case after the date of the Basic Prospectus, the Preliminary Prospectus, or the Prospectus, as the case may be; any reference to any amendment to the Registration Statement shall be deemed to refer to and include any annual report of the Company filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the effective date of the Registration Statement that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement; and any “issuer free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act relating to the Notes is hereinafter called an “ Issuer Free Writing Prospectus ”;

(b)    No order preventing or suspending the use of any Preliminary Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus has been issued by the Commission, and each Preliminary Prospectus, at the time of filing thereof, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “ Trust Indenture Act ”) and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and did not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

(c)    For the purposes of this Agreement, the “ Applicable Time ” is 2:00 pm (Eastern time) on the date of this Agreement; the Preliminary Prospectus as supplemented by the final term sheet prepared and filed pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (as defined in Section 3(a) below), taken together (collectively, the “ Pricing Disclosure Package ”) as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus does not conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus and each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, as

supplemented by and taken together with the Pricing Disclosure Package as of the Applicable Time, did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to statements or omissions made in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

(d)    The documents incorporated by reference in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, and none of such documents contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; any further documents so filed and incorporated by reference in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus or any further amendment or supplement thereto, when such documents become effective or are filed with the Commission, as the case may be, will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, as applicable, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and will not contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; and no such documents were filed with the Commission since the Commission’s close of business on the business day immediately prior to the date of this Agreement and prior to the execution of this Agreement;

(e)    The Registration Statement conformed, as of its effective date, and conforms, and the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and any further amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will conform, in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the Trust Indenture Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder and do not and will not, as of the applicable effective date as to each part of the Registration Statement and as of the applicable filing date as to the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; provided, however, that this representation and warranty shall not apply to any statements or omissions made in reliance upon and in conformity with information furnished in writing to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein;

(f)    (i) (A) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (B) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), and (C) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) under the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Notes in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 under the

Securities Act, the Company was a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act; and (ii) at the earliest time after the filing of the Registration Statement that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Notes, the Company was not an “ineligible issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act;

(g)    The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with power and authority to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the Company’s authorized share capital is as set forth in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, and all of the issued shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued and are fully paid and non-assessable;

(h)    Each of Connecticut General Life Insurance Company and Life Insurance Company of North America (each being hereinafter referred to as a “ Principal Subsidiary ”) has been duly formed and is validly existing in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its formation, with power and authority (corporate and other) to own its properties and conduct its business as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and each Principal Subsidiary of the Company maintains an insurance license or is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation, limited partnership or limited liability company in good standing in all other jurisdictions in which its ownership or lease of property or the conduct of its business requires such qualification; all of the issued and outstanding ownership interests of each Principal Subsidiary of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued in accordance with the organizational documents of such Principal Subsidiary; and the ownership interests of each Principal Subsidiary owned by the Company, directly or through subsidiaries, is owned free from liens, encumbrances and defects, except where the failure to be so licensed or qualified or where such liens, encumbrances and defects would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, business or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (“ Material Adverse Effect ”);

(i)    This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company;

(j)    The Notes and the Indenture have been duly authorized by the Company and, when the Supplemental Indenture has been duly executed and delivered by the Company in accordance with its terms, and assuming the valid execution and delivery thereof by the Trustee, the Indenture will constitute, and, in the case of the Notes, when they are delivered by the Company, paid for pursuant to this Agreement and the Indenture and duly authenticated and delivered by the Trustee, the Notes will, on the Closing Date, constitute, valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, subject, as to enforcement, to bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization and other laws of general applicability relating to or affecting creditors’ rights and to general equity principles (regardless of whether such enforceability is considered in a proceeding in equity or at

law); the Notes when delivered by the Company, paid for pursuant to this Agreement and the Indenture and duly authenticated and delivered by the Trustee, will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture; and the Notes conform to the descriptions thereof in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in all material respects;

(k)    The issuance by the Company of the Notes, the compliance by the Company with all of the provisions of this Agreement, the Notes and the Indenture, and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein (a) will not conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any subsidiary is a party or by which the Company or any subsidiary is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any subsidiary is subject, which conflict, breach, violation, or default would individually, or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (b) will not result in any violation of (i) the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation or By-laws or other organizational documents of the Company, or the charter, by-laws or other organizational documents of any subsidiary of the Company or (ii) any existing statute or any order, rule or regulation of any court or governmental agency or body having jurisdiction over the Company’s or any of its or its subsidiaries’ properties, which violation, in the case of any of the Company’s subsidiaries, would, individually, or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect;

(l)    No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any such court or governmental agency or body is required for the issue of the Notes or the consummation by the Company of the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement and the Indenture, except such consents, approvals, authorizations, registrations or qualifications as may be required under state securities or blue sky laws in connection with the issuance by the Company of the Notes and the purchase and distribution of the Notes by the Underwriters;

(m)    The Company and its Principal Subsidiaries possess certificates, authorities or permits issued by appropriate governmental agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by them and have not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such certificate, authority or permit that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect;

(n)    Except as disclosed in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no pending actions, suits or proceedings against or affecting the Company, any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties that, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect, or would materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under the Indenture or this Agreement or which are otherwise material in the context of the sale of the Notes; and no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated;

(o)    There are no contracts or other documents of a character required to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement or required to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement, Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or required to be described in the Registration Statement, Pricing Disclosure Package or the Prospectus which are not filed or incorporated by reference or described as required;

(p)    The financial statements included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus present fairly the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates shown and their results of operations and cash flows for the periods shown, and, except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with the generally accepted accounting principles in the United States applied on a consistent basis;

(q)    Since the date of the latest audited financial statements incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, which incorporates by reference the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2006, June 30, 2006, and September 30, 2006, as well as certain current reports on Form 8-K, as listed in such Prospectus, there has been no material adverse change in the business, financial condition, prospects or results of operations of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, and there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its equity interests, except the Company’s regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock, par value $0.25 per share;

(r)    The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (1) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (2) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“ GAAP ”) and to maintain accountability for assets; (3) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (4) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (i) no material weakness identified by management, or by the Company’s auditors and communicated to management, in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (ii) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting;

(s)    The Company and its consolidated subsidiaries employ disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is

recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure;

(t)    PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, who have certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act; and

(u)    The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Notes and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Pricing Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, will not be an “investment company” as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

(a)    Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to each of the Underwriters, and each of the Underwriters agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company, the principal amount of the Notes set forth in Schedule I opposite the name of such Underwriter (plus an additional amount of Notes that such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 9 hereof) at a price equal to 98.581% of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued interest, if any, from November 10, 2006 to the Closing Date.

(b)    The Notes to be purchased by each Underwriter hereunder will be represented by one or more registered global notes in book-entry form which will be deposited by or on behalf of the Company with The Depository Trust Company (“ DTC ”) or its designated custodian. The Company will deliver the Notes to the Representatives, acting on behalf of the Underwriters for the account of each Underwriter, against payment by or on behalf of such Underwriter of the amount therefor, as set forth above, by wire transfer of Federal (same day) funds to a commercial bank account located in the United States and designated in writing at least forty-eight hours prior to the Closing Date by the Company to the Representatives, by causing DTC to credit the Notes to the account of one or more of the Representatives, as designated prior to the Closing Date, at DTC. The Company will cause the global certificates representing the Notes to be made available to the Representatives, acting on behalf of the Underwriters, for checking at least twenty-four hours prior to the Closing Date at the office of DTC or its designated custodian (the “ Designated Office ”). The time and date of such delivery and payment shall be 9:30 a.m., New York City time, on November 10, 2006 or such other time and date as the Representatives and the Company may agree upon in writing. Such time and date are herein called the “ Closing Date .”

(c)    The documents to be delivered on the Closing Date by or on behalf of the parties hereto pursuant to Section 7 hereof, including the cross-receipt for the

Notes and any additional documents requested by the Underwriters pursuant to Section 7(k) hereof, will be delivered at such time and date at the offices of Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, New York or such other location as the Representatives and the Company may agree in writing (the “ Closing Location ”), and the Notes will be delivered at the Designated Office, all on the Closing Date. A meeting will be held at the Closing Location at 1:00 p.m., New York City time or at such other time as the Representatives and the Company may agree in writing, on the New York Business Day next preceding the Closing Date, at which meeting the final drafts of the documents to be delivered pursuant to the preceding sentence will be available for review by the parties hereto. For the purposes of this Section 2, “ New York Business Day ” shall mean each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday which is not a day on which banking institutions in New York are generally authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

(a)    The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Notes that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus; each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Company and the Representatives, it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Notes that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or a free writing prospectus that is not required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 433, provided that the Underwriters may use a term sheet substantially in the form of Schedule II hereto without the consent of the Company; any such free writing prospectus (which shall include the pricing term sheet discussed in Section 3(b) hereof), the use of which has been consented to by the Company and the Representatives, is listed on Schedule III and herein called a “ Permitted Free Writing Prospectus .”

(b)    The Company agrees to prepare a term sheet specifying the terms of the Notes not contained in the Preliminary Prospectus, substantially in the form of Schedule II hereto and approved by the Representatives, and to file such pricing term sheet pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act within the time period prescribed by such Rule.

(c)    The Company and the Representatives have complied and will comply with the requirements of Rule 433 under the Securities Act applicable to any free writing prospectus, including timely Commission filing, where required, and legending.

(d)    The Company agrees that if at any time following issuance of a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus any event occurred or occurs as a result of which such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus would conflict with the information in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, or the Pricing Disclosure Package would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in light of the

circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, the Company will give prompt notice thereof to the Representatives and, if requested by the Representatives, will pr