AS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION ON APRIL 6, 2006
                                                      REGISTRATION NO.  33-77690
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                        POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                        UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                      UICI
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

              DELAWARE                           75-2044750
  (State or other jurisdiction of      (I.R.S. Employer Identification
   incorporation or organization)                  Number)

       9151 GRAPEVINE HIGHWAY
    NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS                     76180
  (Address of Principal Executive                (Zip Code)
              Offices)

          Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code:
                             (817) 255-5200

            UICI RESTATED AND AMENDED 1987 STOCK OPTION PLAN
                        (Full Title of the Plan)

                          GLENN W. REED, ESQ.
              EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND GENERAL COUNSEL
                                  UICI
                         9151 GRAPEVINE HIGHWAY
                   NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS 76180
                             (817) 255-5200
       (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Agent for Service)

                      CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
================================================================================
                                                       PROPOSED
                        AMOUNT        PROPOSED          MAXIMUM
     TITLE OF            TO BE          MAXIMUM        AGGREGATE      AMOUNT OF
 SECURITIES TO BE      REGISTERED   OFFERING PRICE     OFFERING     REGISTRATION
    REGISTERED          (1) (2)       PER SHARE         PRICE          FEE
--------------------  -----------  ---------------  --------------  ------------
Class A-1 Common
Stock, par value
$.01 per share         1,600,000          N/A              N/A          (3)
================================================================================
(1) A total of 400,000 shares were registered under the original Registration
    Statement on Form S-8 (No. 033-77690) filed with the Securities and Exchange
    Commission on April 13, 1994; in connection with the filing, UICI paid a
    registration fee of $3,690. The amount of shares being registered reflects
    the adjustment to the total number of shares originally registered as a
    result of the Registrant's June 1, 1995 four-for-one stock split.
(2) Pursuant to Rule 416(c) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, this
    registration statement also covers an indeterminate amount of additional
    securities in order to adjust the number of securities registered as a
    result of a stock split, stock dividend or similar transaction affecting the
    common stock.
(3) Previously paid.  Pursuant to Rule 416 promulgated under the Securities Act
    of 1933, no additional registration fee is required to increase the number
    of shares being registered as a result of a stock split.



                                  PART II

           INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

NOTE: This is a post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement on Form
S-8, Registration No. 33-77690, filed by UICI (the "Company" or "Registrant")
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 13, 1994 (the "Original
Registration Statement"), related to the UICI Restated and Amended 1987 Stock
Option Plan (formerly the UICI 1987 Stock Option Plan) (the "Plan"). The
Original Registration Statement is incorporated by reference herein. The
registration statement is being amended to file the Plan, as further amended and
restated on March 16, 2005, as an exhibit to the registration statement and to
reflect the name change of the Registrant's common stock from "common stock" to
"class A-1 common stock."

ITEM 3.    INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE.

The following documents, which have heretofore been filed by UICI with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (File No. 1-14953) are incorporated by
reference herein and shall be deemed to be a part hereof:

      (a)  Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31,
           2005; and

      (b)  Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on February 17, 2006, March 20,
           2006, March 30, 2006, and April 5, 2006.

All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 prior to the
termination of the offering of the offered securities shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be a part of
this registration statement from the date of filing of such documents. Any
statement contained in this registration statement or in a document incorporated
or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall
be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this registration
statement to the extent that a statement contained in this registration
statement, or in any subsequently filed document which is incorporated or deemed
to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement, modifies or
supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall
not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this
registration statement.

ITEM 4.    DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES.

The class A-1 common stock is subject to the following terms:

DIVIDEND RIGHTS

The board of directors of the Company may, but is not obligated to, declare
dividends at its discretion. Before any dividends are paid on the Company's
common stock, the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued will be
entitled to receive their dividends at the rates provided for the shares of
their series. Any dividends that may be declared on the common stock will be
paid in an equal amount for each share of class A-1 and class A-2 common



                                       -2-


stock. Restrictions on the payment of cash dividends may be imposed in
connection with future issuances of preferred stock and indebtedness by the
Company. Any decisions as to the payment of cash dividends will be made by the
board in light of then current conditions, including earnings, operations,
capital requirements, liquidity, financial condition, restrictions in financing
arrangements and any other relevant factors as determined by the board.

VOTING RIGHTS

Each outstanding share of class A-1 common stock and class A-2 common stock is
entitled to one vote per share on each matter submitted to a vote of the
stockholders, voting together as a single class. The affirmative vote of a
majority of the common stock present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote,
voting as a single class, is required to approve any act or action requiring a
vote of the common stockholders.

Pursuant to Delaware law, any amendment to the charter also requires approval by
the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of each
affected class voting separately as a class, in addition to the affirmative vote
of holders of a majority of the voting power of all classes of common stock,
voting together as a single class.

LIQUIDATION RIGHTS

Upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, after payment of
creditors and any liquidation preference of preferred stock that may be issued,
the remaining net assets of the Company will be distributed pro rata to the
holders of the common stock.

TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS

The holders of class A-1 common stock have entered into a stockholders agreement
(the "Stockholders Agreement") which provides that shares of class A-1 common
stock may only be transferred, and the holder may only agree to transfer shares
of class A-1 common stock, as follows:

o  to the Company;
o  upon the death of the holder, pursuant to applicable laws of descent and
   distribution;
o  for estate planning purposes, pursuant to a transfer to the holder's
   immediate family, whether directly or indirectly by means of a trust or
   partnership or other bona fide estate-planning vehicle the only beneficiaries
   of which the holder's immediate family;
o  after an initial public offering of the Company (and subject to the
   provisions of the registration rights and coordination agreement into which
   the holders of class A-1 common stock are expected to enter), in a registered
   public offering; pursuant to Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act of
   1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"); in a distribution of shares by a
   private equity investor to its general or limited partners, members, managers
   or shareholders; or with the approval of the private equity investors holding
   a majority of the shares held by the private equity investors; and pursuant
   to the provisions in "-- Required Sale of Shares" set forth below.

REQUIRED SALE OF SHARES

                                      -3-


If affiliates of The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and DLJ
Merchant Banking Partners collectively own at least fifty percent (50%) of the
Company's outstanding class A-1 common stock, and affiliates of these private
equity firms owning at least thirty-five percent (35%) of the Company's class
A-1 common stock enter into a definitive written agreement to sell shares of the
Company's common stock to any third party which, taking into account all shares
to be transferred in this and all related transactions, would result in the
transfer of greater than 50% of the outstanding common stock of the Company,
then the selling affiliates will have the option pursuant to the Stockholders
Agreement to obligate each holder of class A-1 common stock to sell the same
proportion of the holder's shares as is sold by the selling affiliates. Upon the
exercise of this required sale option, each holder of class A-1 common stock
will be subject to the same terms as those applicable to shares held by the
selling affiliates, including, but not limited to, the obligation to have a
portion of the purchase price held back or held in escrow pending the
satisfaction of any indemnity obligations.

REDEMPTION

The certificate of incorporation does not provide for redemption rights with
respect to class A-1 common stock.

TRANSFER AGENT

The transfer agent for the Company's class A-1 common stock is Mellon Investor
Services LLC.

STOCK EXCHANGE LISTING

The Company's class A-1 common stock is not listed on any stock exchange.

ITEM 5.    INTERESTS OF NAMED EXPERTS AND COUNSEL.

The consolidated financial statements and schedules of UICI as of December 31,
2005 and 2004, and for each of the years in the three-year period ended December
31, 2005, and management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005 have been incorporated by
reference herein, in reliance upon the reports of KPMG LLP, independent
registered public accounting firm, incorporated by reference herein, and upon
the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

The legality of the shares of class A-1 common stock of UICI to be issued in
connection with the Plan is being passed upon for UICI by Glenn W. Reed,
Executive Vice President and General Counsel of UICI.

ITEM 6.    INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

Section 145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a
corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to
be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than
an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that such
person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or
is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer,
employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
other



                                      -4-


enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines and
amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in
connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good
faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to
the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action
or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was
unlawful.

Section 145(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a
corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to
be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in
the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the
fact that such person acted in any of the capacities set forth above, against
expenses (including attorneys' fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such
person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if
the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to
be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no
indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to
which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation,
unless and only to the extent that the court in which such action or suit was
brought shall determine that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view
of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably
entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the court shall deem proper.

Further subsections of Delaware General Corporation Law Section 145 provide
that:

o  to the extent a present or former director or officer of a corporation has
   been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or
   proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 145 or in
   defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be
   indemnified against expenses (including attorneys' fees) actually and
   reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith;

o  the indemnification and advancement of expenses provided for pursuant to
   Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those
   seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any
   bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or
   otherwise; and

o  the corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance on
   behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of
   the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a
   director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership,
   joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted
   against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or
   arising out of such person's status as such, whether or not the corporation
   would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under
   Section 145.

Article IX of the UICI's certificate of incorporation (i) authorizes the
indemnification of directors and officers (the "Indemnitees") under specified
circumstances to the fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General
Corporation Law, (ii) provides for the advancement of expenses to the
Indemnitees for defending any proceedings related to the specified
circumstances, (iii) gives the Indemnitees the right to bring suit against UICI
to enforce the foregoing rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses,
and (iv) authorizes UICI to maintain certain policies of insurance to protect
itself and any of its directors, officers or



                                      -5-


employees. The Registrant has an insurance policy covering its directors and
officers against certain personal liability, which may include liabilities under
the Securities Act of 1933.

ITEM 7.    EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION CLAIMED.

Not applicable.

ITEM 8.    EXHIBITS.

See the Index to Exhibits, which is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 9.    UNDERTAKINGS.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

      (a)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
           post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

           (i)   To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
                 Securities Act of 1933;

           (ii)  To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after
                 the effective date of the registration statement (or the most
                 recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or
                 together, represent a fundamental change in the information set
                 forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the
                 foregoing, any increase or decrease in the volume of securities
                 offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would
                 not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from
                 the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may
                 be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the
                 Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if,
                 in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no
                 more than a 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering
                 price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table
                 in the effective registration statement;

           (iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of
                 distribution not previously disclosed in the registration
                 statement or any material change to such information in the
                 registration statement;

           Provided, however, that paragraphs (a) (i) and (a) (ii) do not apply
           if the information required to be included in a post-effective
           amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed
           with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission by the
           Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
           Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
           statement.

      (b)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
           Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be
           treated to be a new registration statement relating to the securities
           offered therein, and the offering of



                                      -6-


           such securities at that time shall be treated to be the initial bona
           fide offering thereof.

      (c)  To file a post-effective amendment to remove from registration any of
           the securities being registered that remain unsold at the termination
           of the offering.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining
any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's
annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual
report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is
incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a
new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of
1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the
Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant
has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission
such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act
of 1933 and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for
indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the
Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling
person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in
connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities
Act of 1933 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.


                                      -7-



                                   SIGNATURES

           Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized in the City of North Richland Hills, State of Texas, on April 6,
2006.


                          UICI


                          By: /s/ Glenn. W. Reed
                              -------------------------------------------------
                              Name:  Glenn W. Reed
                              Title: Executive Vice President and General
                                     Counsel


           Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the date indicated.

         SIGNATURE                       TITLE                DATE


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   William J. Gedwed         President, Chief Executive
                             Officer and Director



 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Mark D. Hauptman          Vice President, Chief
                             Financial Officer and Chief
                             Accounting Officer
                             (principal financial officer
                             and principal accounting
                             officer)


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Chinh E. Chu              Director


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Matthew Kabaker           Director


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Adrian M. Jones           Director


                                      -8-


         SIGNATURE                       TITLE                DATE



 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Nathaniel Zilkha          Director


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Kamil M. Salame           Director


 /s/ *                                                  April 6, 2006
---------------------------
   Mural R. Josephson        Director



*By:


 /s/ Glenn W. Reed
---------------------------
   Glenn W. Reed
   (Attorney-In-Fact)


                                      -9-




                               INDEX TO EXHIBITS

    EXHIBIT                              DESCRIPTION

      3.1        Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (incorporated
                 by reference to Exhibit 1 to the Registrant's Registration
                 Statement on Form 8-A filed on April 5, 2006)

      3.2        By-Laws of the Registrant (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
                 2 to the Registrant's Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed
                 on April 5, 2006)

      4.1        Stockholders' Agreement, dated as of April 5, 2006, by and
                 among UICI and certain stockholders named therein

      4.2        Specimen stock certificate of class A-1 common stock

      4.3        UICI Restated and Amended 1987 Stock Option Plan

      5.1        Opinion of Glenn W. Reed regarding legality of securities

     23.1        Consent of Registered Public Accounting Firm -- KPMG LLP

     23.2        Consent of Glenn W. Reed (included in Exhibit 5.1)

     24.1        Powers of Attorney