Zurich North America Small Business Introduces Business Finance Center.

Business Editors

SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2002

Zurich North America:

Online Platform Designed to Provide Customer Service and

Additional Income Opportunities for Zurich Small Business Agents

Zurich North America Small Business (ZSB), today announced the introduction of the Business Finance Center (BFC), a customized online commercial lending marketplace for small business loans, commercial real estate loans and equipment lease financing.

Provided through a strategic alliance with a leading provider of financing solutions on the Internet, the BFC is available to customers exclusively by referral from ZSB's national network of independent insurance agents.

The BFC is a revenue-generating customer service tool that enables ZSB's agents to provide all of their commercial customers with access to commercial financing from multiple lenders through a single application. Financing from $5,000 up to $500 million is available through the BFC.

"The Business Finance Center is set up as a win-win opportunity for both insurance agents and their customers," said Bob Coppersmith, vice president of financial services products for Zurich North America Small Business. "Agents can refer their commercial customers from either the Business Finance Center information page on www.zurichna.com, or from a link added to the agency's own web site. Once a referral is made, the customer can then submit a single financing request to multiple lenders right from their desktop computer. Every time a request results in a completed transaction, the referring agency earns a referral fee. The BFC gives their customers easy online access to competitive rates and terms and the agencies an opportunity to earn more income while providing customers with a valued service."

Using the Business Finance Center, businesses can access more than 200 lenders, including banks, Wall Street firms, insurance companies, finance companies, other financial institutions and private investors. Loan applicants remain anonymous throughout the entire application process, and only winning lenders receive customer contact information. In addition, the Business Finance Center allows applicants to specify loan preferences and control certain aspects of the process, including the proposal deadline and whether a lender may view proposals from other lenders.

For more information about the Business Finance Center, agents may click on the Business Finance Center link under "Agent/Broker Online Services" or "My Bookmarks" on the Zurich North America web site at www.zurichna.com. Customers should contact their ZSB agent to learn how they can take advantage of the Business Finance Center program.

Zurich North America Small Business is a leader in providing insurance protection for small businesses in the office, retail, service, wholesale, institutional, manufacturers and trade contractors markets segments through a network of nearly 12,000 independent agents and 52 local field offices.

About Zurich North America

Zurich North America (www.zurichna.com) is a leading commercial property-casualty insurance provider serving the multinational, middle market and small business sectors in the United States and Canada. Headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., Zurich North America has 11,650 employees and wrote $10.9 billion in premiums in 2001. Zurich North America includes the Zurich U.S. business units (Corporate Customer, Middle Markets, Small Business, Strategic Partnerships, Construction, Specialties, Zurich Global Energy, Surety & Financial Enterprises and Empire Fire and Marine), as well as Universal Underwriters Group and Zurich North America Canada. The Zurich U.S. pool of companies is rated A (excellent) by A.M. Best and A+ (strong) by Standard & Poor's. Zurich North America is a member of the Zurich Financial Services Group.

The Zurich Financial Services Group (www.zurich.com) is an insurance-based financial services provider with an international network that focuses its activities on its key markets of North America, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. Founded in 1872, Zurich is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It has offices in approximately 60 countries and employs well over 70,000 people.