American Insurance Association Joins Council Mandated to Coordinate Financial Services' Business Continuity Efforts; Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council Membership Grows to 28

Business Wire, Jan 5, 2005

NEW YORK -- The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (FSSCC) announced today that the American Insurance Association (AIA) has joined 27 other financial services industry associations and trade groups as the newest member of the Council. The AIA represents over 435 major insurance companies providing all lines of property and casualty insurance.

The FSSCC, a network of financial trade associations and private firms representing thousands of financial services organizations, works closely with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and financial regulators, as well as with the Department of Homeland Security, to coordinate the private sector's preparation for events that could disrupt the normal business of the financial services, such as terrorism, natural disasters or cyber attacks.

"The American Insurance Association has a strong tradition of leadership, shaping public policies," said Donald F. Donahue, Sector Coordinator and Chairman of the FSSCC. "While the Council had participation from the life insurance sector of the insurance industry, the addition of the AIA now rounds out the industry representation by adding the property and casualty side, too.

"We are pleased the AIA has joined as the newest member of the FSSCC, and we welcome their contributions to the Council's efforts to coordinate business continuity among diverse financial services organizations," Donahue said.

"The AIA has a great depth of experience coordinating between the public and private sectors, representing members in every state and at the federal level in legislative, regulatory, and legal forums," said Eric Goldberg, Assistant General Counsel, AIA. "Property-casualty insurers are experts in disaster preparedness and business continuity planning, making us a naturally good fit for the FSSCC.

"We look forward to being active participants in the FSSCC, working with the other Council member associations and firms to collaborate on these issues of safety and soundness of financial services," Goldberg said.

About the AIA:

The American Insurance Association represents over 435 major insurance companies that provide all lines of property and casualty insurance and write more than $120 billion annually in premiums. The association is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and has representatives in every state. All AIA press releases are available at www.aiadc.org.

About the FSSCC:

The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security (www.fsscc.org) is a group of private sector firms and financial trade associations that works to help reinforce the financial services sector's resilience against terrorist attacks and other threats to the nation's financial infrastructure. In this capacity, the Council works with the Department of the Treasury, which has direct responsibility for infrastructure protection and homeland security efforts for the financial services sector. It serves under the overall guidance of the Department for Homeland Security, under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 7. Since most of the sector is privately owned, the Treasury appoints a private-sector Coordinator with whom to work on these issues. Mr. Donahue was appointed to this role in May 2004 by Treasury Secretary John Snow. The Sector Coordinator also serves as Chairman of the Council.

The Council members include:

American Bankers Association
America's Community Bankers
American Council of Life Insurers
American Insurance Association
American Society for Industrial Security International
Bank Administration Institute
ChicagoFIRST, LLC
Chicago Mercantile Exchange
Consumers Bankers Association
Credit Union National Association
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
Fannie Mae
Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center , LLC
The Financial Services Roundtable/BITS
Futures Industry Association
Independent Community Bankers of America
Investment Company Institute
Managed Funds Association
NASDAQ Stock Market
National Association of Federal Credit Unions
National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD)
National Automated Clearinghouse Association
The Clearing House
Securities Industry Association
Securities Industry Automation Corporation
The Bond Market Association
The Options Clearing Corporation
VISA USA Inc.