Guide to best's financial strength ratings.

GUIDE TO BEST'S FINANCIAL STRENGHT RATINGS

A Best's Rating is an independent opinion, based on a comprehensive
quantitative and qualitative evaluation, of a company's balance sheet,
strength, operating performance and business profile. Best's Ratings
are not a warranty of a company's financial strength and ability to
meet its obligations to policyholders.

Financial Strength Ratings

A Best's Financial Strength Rating (FSR) is an opinion of an insurer's
financial strength and ability to meet ongoing obligations to
policyholders.

Rating     Descriptor    Definition

Secure

A++, A+    Superior      Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a superior ability to meet their
                         ongoing obligations to policyholders.

A, A-      Excellent     Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, an excellent ability to meet their
                         ongoing obligations to policyholders.

B++, B+    Very Good     Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a good ability to meet their ongoing
                         obligations to policyholders.

Vulnerabe

B, B-      Fair          Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a fair ability to meet their current
                         obligations to policyholders, but are
                         financially vulnerable to adverse changes in
                         underwriting and economic conditions.

C++, C+    Marginal      Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a marginal ability to meet their
                         current obligations to policyholders, but are
                         financially vulnerable to adverse changes in
                         underwriting and economic conditions.

C, C-      Weak          Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a weak ability to meet their current
                         obligations to policyholders, but are
                         financially very vulnerable to adverse changes
                         in underwriting and economic conditions.

D          Poor          Assigned to companies that have, in our
                         opinion, a poor ability to meet their current
                         obligations to policyholders and are
                         financially extremely vulnerable to adverse
                         changes in underwriting and economic
                         conditions.

E          Under         Assigned to companies (and possibly their
           Regulatory    subsidiaries/affiliates) that have been placed
           Supervision   by an insurance regulatory authority under a
                         significant form of supervision, control or
                         restraint where-by they are no longer allowed
                         to conduct normal ongoing insurance
                         operations. This would include conservatorship
                         or rehabilitation, but does not include
                         liquidation. It may also be assigned to
                         companies issued cease and desist orders by
                         regulators outside their home state or
                         country.

F          In            Assigned to companies that have been placed
           Liquidation   under an order of liquidation by a court of
                         law or whose owners have voluntarily agreed to
                         liquidate the company. Note: Companies that
                         voluntarily liquidate or dissolve their
                         charters are generally not insolvent.

S          Suspended     Assigned to companies that have experienced
                         sudden and significant events affecting their
                         balance sheet strength or operating
                         performance whereby the rating implications
                         cannot be evaluated due to a lack of timely or
                         adequate information.

Rating Modifiers and Affiliation Codes

A rating modifier can be assigned to indicate that a Best's Rating may
be subject to near-term change (under review), that a company did not
subscribe to Best's interactive rating process (public data) and that
the rating is assigned to a syndicate operating at Lloyd's. Affiliation
codes (g, p, and r) are added to Best's Ratings to identify companies
whose assigned ratings are based on group, pooling or reinsurance
affiliation with other insurers.

Modifier   Descriptor    Definition

Ratings Modifiers

u          Under         A modifier that generally is event-driven
           Review        (positive, negative or developing) and is
                         assigned to a company whose Best's Rating
                         opinion is under review and may be subject to
                         change in the near-term, generally defined as
                         six months.

pd         Public Data   Assigned to insurers that do not subscribe to
                         Best's interactive rating process. Best's "pd"
                         Ratings reflect qualitative and quantitative
                         analyses using public data and information.

s          Syndicate     Assigned to syndicates operating at Lloyd's.

Affiliation

g Group
p Pooled
r Reinsured

Not Rated Categories (NR)

Assigned to companies reported on by A.M. Best, but not assigned a
Best's Rating. The five categories are:

NR-1: Insufficient Data.
NR-2: Insufficient Size and/or Operating Experience.
NR-3: Rating Procedure Inapplicable.
NR-4: Company Request.
NR-5: Not Formally Followed.

Rating Outlook

Best's Ratings (A++ to D) are assigned a Rating Outlook that indicates
the potential direction of a company's rating for an intermediate
period, generally defined as the next 12 to 36 months. Public Data
Ratings are not assigned an Outlook. Rating Outlooks, which appear in
the rating rationale section of the company's Best's Company Report,
are as follows:

Positive   Indicates a company's financial/market trends are favorable,
           relative to its current rating level and, if continued, the
           company has a good possibility of having its rating
           upgraded.

Negative   Indicates a company is experiencing unfavorable financial/
           market trends, relative to its current rating level and, if
           continued, the company has a good possibility of having its
           rating downgraded.

Stable     Indicates a company is experiencing stable financial/market
           trends and there is a low likelihood that its rating will
           change in the near term.

Best's Ratings are distributed via press release and/or the A.M. Best
Web site at www.ambest.com, and are published in the Rating Monitor
section of BestWeek[R]. Best's Ratings are proprietary and may not be
reproduced without permission.

Copyright [c] 2005 by A.M. Best Company, Inc.

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