A.M. Best Upgrades ICR of Lloyd's Syndicate 1084

Business Wire, July 24, 2007

OLDWICK, N.J. -- A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the Best's Syndicate Rating of A (Excellent) and upgraded the issuer credit rating (ICR) to "a " from "a" of Lloyd's Syndicate 1084, reflecting the recent upgrade of the ICR of Lloyd's of London. At the same time, A.M. Best has upgraded the ICR to "bbb" from "bbb-" of Chaucer Holdings PLC, the ultimate parent company of the syndicate's managing agency, Chaucer Syndicates Limited (CSL). A.M. Best has also upgraded the debt rating to "bbb-" from "bb " on the GBP 20 million 8.5% subordinated convertible notes due 2008, issued by Chaucer Holdings Plc. The outlook for all ratings is stable.

The syndicate's ratings reflect the financial strength of the Lloyd's market, which underpins the security of all Lloyd's syndicates. The ratings also factor a prospective decrease in the volatility of future underwriting results. In A.M. Best's opinion, syndicate 1084's financial performance is likely to benefit from increased diversification resulting from its merger with syndicates 587 and 1096 in 2004. This is supported by 2004's closed-year return on capacity of 16.7% after illustrative personal expenses and an anticipated profit of between 1% and 6% in 2005 (in line with the syndicate's first quarter 2007 Quarterly Monitoring Return), both catastrophe-affected years of account. A.M. Best believes that the syndicate's good performance is likely to continue in 2006 (86% combined ratio on an annually accounted basis) and 2007.

Additionally, the syndicate has an excellent business profile within Lloyd's, supported by its leadership position on a substantial proportion of its business (41% of 2006 gross premium income). The syndicate also benefits from the franchise of CSL, which is the seventh largest managing agent in Lloyd's with capacity under management of GBP 734 million in 2007.

For Best's Ratings, an overview of the rating process and rating methodologies, please visit www.ambest.com/ratings.> Founded in 1899, A.M. Best Company is a full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the financial services industries, including the banking and insurance sectors. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.