Press Releases - Notices

ACQUISITION OF LONDON GUARANTEE – LETTER TO OUR BROKERS / AGENTS
August 3, 2001

Dear Agents and Brokers:

We are pleased to announce that The St. Paul intends to acquire London Guarantee Insurance Co., creating the largest surety guarantee company and a leading provider of Corporate Risk liability insurance in Canada. Details of the definitive agreement are outlined in the attached press release. The transaction is expected to close within three to five months after regulatory approval has been received.

Upon closing, the acquisition will position The St. Paul as the No. 1 surety company in North America, strengthen its position as one of the leading surety organizations in the world, and create one of the largest providers of D&O and E&O liability coverage in Canada. The combined companies will offer:

Expanded surety and corporate risk products for Canadian customers;
A bigger and stronger underwriting team across Canada;
Continued excellent claim services;
A worldwide surety and corporate risk network available to customers; and,
Critical mass, financial strength and more underwriting capacity to better serve you and your clients.
We are committed to an integration that will be as seamless as possible--with minimal disruption to you and your customers. Our goal is to minimize any confusion, and to communicate our integration plans with you as soon as possible. In the meantime, it's business as usual.

A brief question and answer guide is attached for your reference. This information will also be posted on the Northern Indemnity, St. Paul Canada, and London Guarantee web sites at www.northernindemnity.com, www.stpaul.com/canada, and www.londonguarantee.com, respectively.

We are very excited about the potential of the combined organizations. Thank you for your ongoing support as we work to build a bigger and better company for the future.

Sincerely,

Robert Taylor
President & CEO
London Guarantee Insurance Company
(800) 330-5033
 

Bob Fellows
President & CEO
St. Paul Canada
(416) 366-8301

Rob Burns
President & CEO
Northern Indemnity, Inc.
(416) 925-9360