News

November 30, 2006

ICAT Establishes Syndicate at Lloyd's of London

Boulder, CO - ICAT Holdings LLC (ICAT) announced today the creation of a new underwriting syndicate at Lloyd’s of London, designated as ICM Syndicate 4242, to support the company’s underwriting of catastrophe-exposed properties throughout the United States. ICM Syndicate 4242 will commence underwriting business on January 1, 2007 and joins the more than 300-year-old market’s existing community of 66 syndicates.

“This is an exciting day for ICAT. Lloyd’s is an exceptional underwriting community that is one of the most prestigious and financially secure institutions in the world. Our entry into the Lloyd’s market is a testament to our employees’ almost decade-long work to build a disciplined and successful catastrophe underwriting business and we are honored to become a member of the Lloyd’s community,” said Jack Graham, Chief Executive Officer of ICAT Holdings. “Under the Lloyd’s banner, we are well positioned to serve the needs of more than 20,000 policyholders and our network of 450 independent agents and brokers.”

Syndicate 4242 has capital to support approximately $200 million of gross written premium for its 2007 business plan. Through a Lloyd’s Coverholder Agreement, ICAT Managers, LLC has binding authority to underwrite and manage the Company’s existing core business on behalf of the Syndicate. Capital has been supplied through a consortium made up of ICAT and third-party investors, including Chaucer Holdings PLC, whose managing agency subsidiary, Chaucer Syndicates, Ltd., will act as the managing agent for Syndicate 4242 to provide operations and regulatory support. Chaucer is a leading Lloyd’s Managing Agent with approximately £1 billion under management.

“Chaucer was attracted to working with ICAT due to its reputation in the market as a disciplined specialty underwriter,” added Bob Stuchbery, the Chief Underwriting Officer of Chaucer. “We are excited to be their partner in Syndicate 4242.”

ICAT’s Gregory Butler is the Active Underwriter of Syndicate 4242. Butler has held several underwriting positions at ICAT and was previously Deputy Insurance Commissioner in the California Department of Insurance and served as the founding Chief Executive Officer of the California Earthquake Authority.

Benfield Advisory (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Benfield Group) and Clyde & Co. acted as advisors to ICAT in the transaction.

About ICAT Holdings LLC

ICAT is a specialty insurance underwriter of small and middle market commercial properties that are located in catastrophe-exposed regions of the Untied States. Since its formation in 1998, the company has grown to be one of the top 100 insurance brokers in the United States and currently insures over 60,000 commercial buildings with in force premium of approximately US$200m.

Over 450 independent insurance agents and brokers produce business for ICAT, most of which is transacted over the company’s website (usdf21v0780.mrshmc.com) where producers submit coverage requests and secure underwriting decisions and quotes on a real-time basis.

ICAT’s long term strategy has been to evolve its business from the underwriting manager model to that of a full risk-bearing insurer. In 2005, the company took its first step towards the achievement of this strategy by establishing ICAT Specialty Insurance Company to underwrite Wind-Hail only policies for small commercial accounts in Florida and Named Hurricane coverage for residential properties in Hawaii.

In November 2005, Vulcan Capital, the investment vehicle of Paul G. Allen (co-founder of Microsoft), acquired a majority interest of ICAT.

About Chaucer Holdings PLC

Chaucer Holdings PLC is a specialist insurance underwriting group listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Chaucer provides the management skills, expertise and capital required to underwrite insurance business at Lloyd’s, the world’s leading specialist insurance and reinsurance market. The core of the business is Syndicate 1084, which has an expected capacity of £485m for 2007. The Syndicate underwrites non-marine, marine and UK motor risks. Chaucer also manages, and provides capital support to Nuclear Syndicate 1176.

Chaucer also supplies managing agency services to third party insurance companies. Chaucer Syndicates Limited is currently the third largest managing agency at Lloyd’s with a total syndicate capacity under management of £919m for 2006.