Exhibit 99.1


For Release      Immediate

Contacts         (News Media) Mark Lubbers, EVP, External Relations 317.817.4418
                 (Investors) Tammy Hill, SVP, Investor Relations 317.817.2893





                             Conseco issues memo #16

          Indianapolis, Ind.: Oct. 2, 2001 - Conseco, Inc. (NYSE:CNC) issued the
attached "NEW Conseco Memo #16" from CEO Gary C. Wendt and it was posted on
Conseco's web site for shareholders and/or electronically distributed to them
today.

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                                NEW Conseco Memo
                                      # 16


To:      Conseco Shareholders
From:    Gary Wendt, Chairman & CEO
Date:    October 2, 2001


          The terrorist attacks on September 11th took a slow quarter for the
American economy and made a bad situation worse. Based on consensus projections
from a broad range of economists, the economic slowdown will continue in the
fourth quarter and perhaps well into 2002.

          As this situation became clear over the last two weeks, I asked our
corporate finance staff to evaluate how a continued economic downturn would
affect our balance sheet. That review is essentially complete. It points toward
special charges that are large enough that we feel obligated to disclose and
discuss them now.

          Although the impacts of a down economy on our ongoing business
operations will be manageable, there are two balance sheet items on which a
downturn in the economy may have a significant impact: (1) the I/O security and
(2) the performance of certain high-yield investments and collateralized debt
obligations (CDOs) in our bond portfolio. With the prospects for the economy
continuing in a downtrend, we are changing certain assumptions about the future
and reducing the value of these balance sheet items now.

          In addition to charges related to adjusting the I/O assumptions and
taking losses in the bond portfolio, we will also provide you with three other
3rd quarter non-operating charges that we are aware of and are able to
calculate. These five items - all of which have been subject to downward
adjustment in the past as part of "legacy items" - represent all of the special
charges we expect to report in the 3rd quarter release scheduled for October 30.

          The after-tax amount of these charges is estimated to total
approximately $475 million. Preliminary estimates of these individual amounts
(+/- 5%) are as follows:



                                                       $ million
                                                    (net of taxes)
                                                      

                  I/O Security                             225
                  Realized losses in bond portfolio        125
                  Major Med discontinuation                 40
                  TeleCorp mark-to-market                   45
                  D&O plan reserve                          40
                                                     ---------

                  Total                                  $ 475


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                                                                     Conseco (3)
                                                                    Oct. 2, 2001



          It is important to note that none of these special charges changes our
plan to reduce debt by $3.5 billion by the end of 2003 -- $2.1 billion of which
has already been completed. Projected operating cash flows will allow debt to be
repaid as previously forecast.



          The following is a brief description of the charges listed above:



I/O (Interest Only) Security:
-----------------------------

          The value of this asset is based on a set of assumptions about future
expected cash flows from securitizations done under gain-on-sale accounting, the
accounting treatment that Conseco Finance used until late 1999. As you have
heard us say before, the actual cash flows from these securitizations have been
less than that assumed when the I/O value was established.



          Whenever actual performance in any of the 80 securitization pools is
worse than the assumed performance, we are hit with a charge to the income
statement.



          During the 3rd quarter, the I/O under-performed the assumptions used
in our projections, which will result in a charge to income. And IF the
assumptions were left in place, at a time when it now appears the general
economy will make achieving them highly unlikely, then the I/O would likely
continue to generate charges each quarter into the foreseeable future.


          The charge we will take in the 3rd quarter reflects an adjustment to
these assumptions. We believe that the adjusted assumptions are consistent with
current and expected future economic conditions. The key adjustments relate to
the default rates and severity. Severity is the measure of how much of the asset
value is recoverable through repossession and resale.



          On an after-tax basis, this charge will be approximately $225 million.
This charge will reduce the value of the I/O security asset on our balance sheet
from $459 million at 6/30/01 to approximately $193 million at 9/30/01.
Considering the I/O by type of receivable, we will be reducing the Manufactured
Housing component from $263 million at 6/30/01 to approximately $30 million at
9/30/01; the Home Equity/Home Improvement component from $187 million at 6/30/01
to approximately $155 million at 9/30/01; and the Consumer/Equipment component
from $9 million at 6/30/01 to approximately $8 million at 9/30/01.



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                                                                     Conseco (4)
                                                                    Oct. 2, 2001

          Under these adjusted assumptions, net cash flow from the I/O security
is expected to be approximately $10 million in 2002, essentially the same as
2001.



Realized Losses on Investments:
-------------------------------

          Under the revised economic outlook, our review of the $25 billion
investment portfolio held in our insurance companies projects after-tax realized
losses of approximately $125 million. A little less than half of this charge
will be to write down the value of collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). You
have seen similar charges throughout the financial services sector in recent
months, much of which has been precipitated by the adoption of a new and more
conservative accounting standard (EITF Issue No. 99-20). The downturn in the
economy increases the likelihood of default in certain types of CDOs.



          We also will wrte down certain below-investment-grade securities,
primarily fixed maturities, which in our view are especially susceptible to the
expected downturn in the economy.


Major Medical Discontinuation:
------------------------------

          We believe that this item will complete the charges associated with
our decision to exit the major medical segment of the health insurance industry.
We announced our intent to sell this business in mid-2000, but the performance
of parts of this business unit made the sale impossible. Therefore we have taken
steps to shut down approximately 2/3 of the business; we believe the remaining
business can then be sold. This charge, approximately $40 million net of taxes,
will cover accelerated amortization of the costs of policies purchased and
produced, the establishment of deficiency reserves, and the loss on this
business incurred during the quarter. After this charge there will be no
remaining unamortized cost of policies purchased or produced related to the
non-renewed business. (Based on our current projections, we believe our $100
million deficiency reserve will be sufficient to cover additional losses on this
business without the recognition of additional charges.)



Telecorp mark-to-market:
------------------------

          This asset continues to be volatile. As you know from previous
quarters, we are required to mark this asset to its market value. In the second
quarter this resulted in an after-tax gain of $20 million. This quarter, we will
recognize a $45 million write-down, net of tax, based on the closing price of
the stock on September 28, 2001.



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                                                                     Conseco (5)
                                                                    Oct. 2, 2001


D&O Plan Reserve:
-----------------

          This charge relates to the company's potential liability for
guaranteeing bank loans to certain directors and officers from 1996 to 1999 in
order to purchase Conseco common stock - the so-called "D&O Plan." The
calculation that derives this reserve amount is partially dependent on the value
of Conseco stock held as collateral on these loans. At the close of the 3rd
quarter, the market value of our stock was below the threshold level established
at the end of 2000. Therefore, we increased this reserve by approximately $40
million after tax.



          A few final items of note...



          First, none of the special charges detailed above changes our long
term plans for the NEW Conseco or the long-range earnings guidance we have
provided. Most of these charges relate to issues that we have referred to as
"legacy items" - situations we inherited at the beginning of the Turnaround that
affect the balance sheet, but not the value of the company going forward. We
have consistently said that we expected these items to cause "noise" in our
financials in the near term. The current economic situation has accelerated that
"noise," and warrants our response to its impact on our balance sheet.



          None of these special charges causes us to violate any of our debt
covenants. And even after the charges, we maintain a book value (excluding other
comprehensive income) of more than $13.50 per share.


          Most important, the long-term process of creating value in the NEW
Conseco continues unaffected. We are deeply into the hard work of the Turnaround
right now. By building consistent and growing earnings from each of our business
segments - Finance and Insurance - we expect to earn $2 to $3 per share in 2004.
We also expect to emerge in that period with a much de-leveraged balance sheet.
And by then, we expect the "noise" to be insignificant or non-existent.


                                   - # # # # -


World Wide Web        http://www.conseco.com
Investor Hotline      800.4.CONSECO
Fax-on-Demand         800.344.6452




                                                                     Conseco (6)
                                                                    Oct. 2, 2001


          Note on forward-looking statements: All statements, trend analyses and
other information contained in this release and elsewhere (such as in filings by
Conseco with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases,
presentations by Conseco or its management or oral statements) relative to
markets for Conseco's products and trends in Conseco's operations or financial
results, as well as other statements including words such as "anticipate,"
"believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "projected," "intend," "should,"
"could," "goal," "target," "on track," "comfortable with," "optimistic" and
other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements under the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking
statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those
contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among
other things: (1) general economic conditions and other factors, including
prevailing interest rate levels, stock and credit market performance and health
care inflation, which may affect (among other things) Conseco's ability to sell
its products, its ability to make loans and access capital resources and the
costs associated therewith, the market value of Conseco's investments, the lapse
rate and profitability of policies, and the level of defaults and prepayments of
loans made by Conseco; (2) Conseco's ability to achieve anticipated synergies
and levels of operational efficiencies; (3) customer response to new products,
distribution channels and marketing initiatives; (4) mortality, morbidity, usage
of health care services and other factors which may affect the profitability of
Conseco's insurance products; (5) performance of our investments; (6) changes in
the Federal income tax laws and regulations which may affect the relative tax
advantages of some of Conseco's products; (7) increasing competition in the sale
of insurance and annuities and in the finance business; (8) regulatory changes
or actions, including those relating to regulation of financial services
affecting (among other things) bank sales and underwriting of insurance
products, regulation of the sale, underwriting and pricing of products, and
health care regulation affecting health insurance products; (9) the outcome of
Conseco's efforts to sell assets and reduce, refinance or modify indebtedness
and the availability and cost of capital in connection with this process; (10)
actions by rating agencies and the effects of past or future actions by these
agencies on Conseco's business; and (11) the risk factors or uncertainties
listed from time to time in Conseco's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.