Guide to best's financial strength ratings.

GUIDE TO BEST'S FINANCIAL STRENGTH 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
ability to meet its 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.

Vulnerable

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
           Supervision      placed by an insurance regulatory
                            authority under a significant form of
                            supervision, control or restraint whereby
                            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 Liquidation   Assigned to companies that have been
                            placed 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

Rating Modifiers

u          Under Review     A modifier that generally is event-driven
                            (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 Codes

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 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] 2004 by A.M. Best
Company, Inc.

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