EXHIBIT 99.1


Cendant and American Bankers Reach Agreement on $67 Per Share Merger Transaction

STAMFORD,  Conn. and  MIAMI--(BUSINESS  WIRE)--March 23, 1998--Cendant Corp. and
American  Bankers  Insurance Group Inc.  announced they have signed a definitive
merger agreement under which Cendant will acquired American Bankers for cash and
stock valued at $67 per share,  for an aggregate  consideration of approximately
$3.1 billion.

Walter  A.  Forbes,  chairman,  and  Henry R.  Silverman,  president  and  chief
executive  officer of  Cendant,  stated:  "We are pleased to have  reached  this
agreement with American Bankers. We are very enthusiastic about the potential of
our combination and look forward to taking  advantage of the many  opportunities
it will  create  to  generate  additional  value  for our  shareholders.  We are
confident  that this  transaction  will  provide  many  creative new outlets for
Cendant and American Bankers, will open new horizons for the careers of American
Bankers' employees and will be beneficial to the South Florida community."

"We note that AIG too has served its shareholders  very well and look forward to
doing business with AIG in the future."

R. Kirk Landon,  chairman of the Board of American Bankers, said: "The agreement
with Cendant  provides our shareholders  with  exceptional  value. Our board has
acted  throughout  this  process  in the  best  interest  of  our  shareholders,
employees,  policyholders and our local communities. We believe everyone is very
pleased with the outcome."

Cendant will purchase 23.5 million  shares of American  Bankers at $67 per share
through  its  pending  cash  tender  offer,  to be followed by a merger in which
Cendant will deliver Cendant shares with a value of $67 for each remaining share
of American Bankers common stock outstanding.

In the merger, each share of $3.125 Series B Convertible  Preferred stock of ABI
shall be  converted  into,  and become  exchangeable  for, one share of Series A
Preferred stock of Cendant with terms substantially  similar to the terms of the
ABI Preferred Stock and shall be convertible into Cendant's common stock.

Cendant already received anti-trust  clearance to acquire American Bankers.  The
tender  offer is subject to the  receipt  of  tenders  representing  at least 51
percent of the common  shares of American  Bankers as well as customary  closing
conditions,  including  regulatory  approvals.  American  Bankers will  schedule
shareholder  meetings to vote on the merger with Cendant as soon as practicable.
The  transaction  is expected to be  completed  in the latter part of the second
quarter.


                                                      





Pursuant to a separate  agreement among Cendant,  American  Bankers and AIG, AIG
has received a termination  fee of $100 million from American  Bankers,  plus $5
million of merger-related expenses received from Cendant, which will be followed
by an additional $5 million at the closing of the transaction.

In addition,  all lawsuits among the parties will be dropped, and AIG has agreed
not to oppose Cendant's Form A applications in any venue.

American  Bankers  Insurance Group Inc.  concentrates  on marketing  affordable,
specialty  insurance  products  and  services  through  financial  institutions,
retailers and other entities  offering  consumer  financing as a regular part of
their business. ABI, through its insurance subsidiaries,  operates in the United
States, Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.

Cendant is the world's premier provider of consumer and business services.  With
a market captialization in excess of $30 billion, it ranks among the 100 largest
U.S.  corproations.  Cendant oeprates in three principal  segments:  Membership,
Travel and Real Estate Services. In Membership Services, Cendant provides access
to travel,  shopping,  auto,  dining,  and other services through more than 66.5
million  memberships  worldwide.  In Travel  Services,  Cendant  is the  leading
frachisor of hotels and rental car agencies  worldwide,  the premier provider of
vacation exchange services and the second largest fleet management  company.  In
Real Estate Services,  Cendant is the world's premier  franchiser of residential
real  estate  brokerage  offices,  a major  provider  of  mortgage  services  to
consumers and a global leader in corporate employee relocation. Headquartered in
Stamford,  Conn.  and  Parsippany,  N.J.,  the  company  has  more  than  34,000
employees,  operates in over 100 countries and makes  approximately  100 million
customer contacts annually.