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 policy-
                             holders.
B++, B+    Very Good         Assigned to companies that have, in our
                             opinion, a good ability to meet their on-
                             going obligations to policyholders.

Vulnerable

B, B-      Fair              Assigned to companies that have, in our
                             opinion, a fair ability to meet their cur-
                             rent 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 con-
                             ditions.
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, in our opi-
                             nion, may not have an ability to meet
                             their current obligations to policy-
                             holders and are financially extremely
                             vulnerable to adverse changes in under-
                             writing and economic conditions.
E          Under             Assigned to companies (and possibly their
           Regulatory        subsidiaries/affiliates) that have been
           Supervision       placed by an insurance regulatory authori-
                             ty under a significant form of supervi-
                             sion, 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 volunta-
                             rily 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 expe-
                             rienced sudden and significant events
                             affecting their balance sheet strength or
                             operating performance and whose 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.

Ratings
Modifiers

Modifier    Descriptor                      Definition

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

Rating Outlook

Best's interactive 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. 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 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. Version 011304