The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) announced today that its Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company (GIAC), Inc. subsidiary has been awarded two DALBAR Seals of Excellence. DALBAR Seals are awarded to those firms that consistently exceed customer expectations for their level of servicing.

The two DALBAR Seals of Excellence awarded to GIAC recognize the company's excellence in providing Call Center Support to Plan Sponsors and in managing Transaction Processing. This is the fourth consecutive year that GIAC has earned two DALBAR seals. Additionally, it is the only retirement plan service provider to receive these awards for 2008.

"Guardian's service commitment is a defining part of our daily operating procedures," said Scott Dolfi, executive vice president, Retirement Solutions for Guardian. "Exceeding service expectations begins with experiencing the fact that Guardian's processes yield accurate results. We continually review our accuracy numbers to ensure our clients have the best service experience possible. These DALBAR Seals are one of our success measures in providing consistent top-notch customer service."

Before awarding the Call Center Support seal, DALBAR conducted a series of evaluations with GIAC's Group Retirement Solutions clients, reviewing the call center's ability to effectively support plan sponsors who use The Guardian Advantage® or The Guardian Choice(SM) as the funding vehicle for their qualified retirement plan in their day-to-day business.

For the Transaction Processing seal, DALBAR audited nearly 2,000 transactions, reviewing GIAC's ability to effectively process contributions, distributions, and basic account maintenance for qualified retirement plans that use The Guardian Advantage® as their funding vehicle.

"These DALBAR seals affirm our continuous dedication to providing plan sponsors and participants with exemplary service," Dolfi added.

DALBAR, Inc., one of the nation's leading financial-services market research firms, continues its nearly three-decade commitment to raising the standards of excellence in the industry. With offices in the US and Canada, DALBAR develops standards for, and provides research, ratings, and rankings of intangible factors that influence the overall customer-service experience in the mutual fund, broker/dealer, managed account, retirement plan, life insurance and property and casualty insurance industries. Such factors include print communications, Internet, interactive voice response, call center, and financial-professional touch points. www.dalbar.com

About GIAC

GIAC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. The Guardian Advantage® group variable annuity contract and The Guardian Choice(SM) group variable funding agreement are issued by The Guardian Insurance & Annuity Company, Inc. (GIAC), a Delaware corporation whose principal place of business is 7 Hanover Square, New York, NY 10004. The variable investment options offered through GIAC's variable annuities are sold by prospectus only.

The prospectuses contain important information including risks, fees and expenses. Be sure to read the prospectuses carefully before investing or sending money. You should consider the investment company's investment objectives, risks, fees and charges carefully before investing. Prospectuses contain this and other important information and can be obtained from your financial professional or by calling 800-799-4015.

Variable annuities, along with their underlying investment options, are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or depository institution, nor are they insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Federal Reserve Board, the National Credit Union Association or any other agency. They involve investment risk, including possible loss of the principal amount invested. Investment return and principal value may fluctuate so that shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost.

Guardian does not issue The Guardian Advantage® or The Guardian Choice(SM) and does not guarantee any of the benefits provided under the contract.