A.M. Best Upgrades Rating of EULER American Credit Indemnity Company and Assigns Issuer Credit Rating

Business Wire, August 19, 2005

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to A (Superior) from A (Excellent) and assigned an issuer credit rating of "aa-" to EULER American Credit Indemnity Company (Ownings Mills, MD). The outlook for both ratings is stable.

These rating actions reflect EULER's leading position as an insurer of accounts receivable risks in North America with a strong international presence through its affiliation with EULER HERMES and Allianz Aktiengesellschaft. The ratings also recognize the company's solid balance sheet and exceptional earnings posted in recent years.

As part of EULER's underwriting program, the company offers its insureds (for an additional fee) credit reviews through its extensive credit database, which covers a large number of companies across many industries. This service reduces the need for insureds to provide their own in-house credit reviews of companies with which they do business and thus serves to increase policyholder retentions for EULER. As a result of the growing utilization of this service, as well as a number of underwriting, pricing and risk management initiatives undertaken in recent years, EULER's solid earnings are anticipated to be sustainable across market cycles.

For Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit http://www.ambest.com/ratings.> For current Best's Ratings, independent data and analysis on more than 3,000 individual property/casualty companies and A.M. Best groups, please visit http://www.ambest.com/pc.> A.M. Best Co., established in 1899, is the world's oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit A.M. Best's Web site at http://www.ambest.com.