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.

             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.

Vulnerable   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
             c                          in underwriting and economic
                                        conditions.

             E         Under            Assigned to companies (and
                       Regulatory       possibly their subsidiaries/
                       Supervision      affiliates) that have been
                                        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      u          Under Review   A modifier that generally is
Modifiers                             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 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] 2004 by A.M. Best
Company, Inc.

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