A.M. Best Upgrades RenaissanceRe's Glencoe Subsidiary to "A" Excellent

Business Wire, Dec 20, 2001

Business Editors

PEMBROKE, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--December 20, 2001

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: RNR) announced today that A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating of RenaissanceRe's commercial property insurance subsidiary, Glencoe Insurance Ltd., to "A" (Excellent) from "A-".

According to the A.M. Best report, "This rating reflects the company's favorable operating experience, excellent capitalization, and strong risk management capabilities. These positive attributes are derived from the company's strategic role within the RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. group which provides the company access to sophisticated pricing, underwriting, and risk modeling capabilities. In addition, RenaissanceRe has demonstrated its support of this operation through a recent capital injection that elevated Glencoe's capital base to $100 million. . . As a focused catastrophe specialist, RenaissanceRe provides significant management oversight emphasizing disciplined underwriting, conservative exposure accumulations and optimal capital allocation. Additionally, RenaissanceRe offers additional financial flexibility to support Glencoe's growth opportunities."

"Through our ownership of Glencoe, RenaissanceRe is committed to serving the needs of the commercial insurance market and this rating upgrade underscores and enhances our ability to do so," said James N. Stanard, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. is a global provider of reinsurance and insurance. The Company's principal product is property catastrophe reinsurance.

Cautionary Statement under "Safe Harbor" Provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements made in this news release contain information about the Company's future business prospects. These statements may be considered "forward-looking." These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For further information regarding cautionary statements and factors affecting future operations results, please refer to RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.'s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000 and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2001, June 30, 2001 and September 30, 2001 and its current reports on form 8-K filed in 2001.