Completion of acquisition of renewal rights to the property insurance portfolio of Creechurch Holdings Limited

December 02, 2003

PRESS RELEASE
02 December 2003
For immediate release
Brit Insurance Holdings PLC
Completion of acquisition of renewal rights to the property insurance portfolio of Creechurch Holdings Limited (Creechurch)
Following its announcement on 6 October, 2003, Brit Insurance Limited ('Brit'), a subsidiary of Brit Insurance Holdings PLC the UK general insurance group, has exercised its option to acquire the renewal rights to the property portfolio of Creechurch.
Highlights:
Having reviewed the overall portfolio, Brit has exercised its option in respect of property insurance business expected to generate some £20m of Gross Premium Income for 2004.
As of October 1 Brit has been providing the necessary capacity to allow Creechurch to continue to build its UK property book. This arrangement will run until the end of 2003.
Brit is not assuming any liability in respect of business written prior to October 1, 2003.
Brit will administer the underwriting run-off of elements of the existing property business for a fee.

The acquisition is an excellent strategic fit for Brit which is building its presence in the UK commercial insurance market and in particular the Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME) sector. Reflecting this, during the past twelve months Brit has also significantly increased its involvement in this market in casualty, professional indemnity and motor fleet classes.
Dane Douetil, Chief Executive of Brit's underwriting operations said:
'Once again this acquisition will enable us to expand into a target area without assuming past liability and, as we stated in October, is further evidence of our determination to take full advantage of the excellent underwriting conditions that exist in the UK SME markets. We are also delighted to be welcoming a team of specialist underwriters and support staff from Creechurch, led by the senior underwriter of Creechurch's UK commercial property account, Jon Bartlett.'
Ends

Contact:
Dane Douetil, Brit Insurance Holdings PLC
Tel: 020 7984 8500
David Haggie / Peter Rigby, Haggie Financial
Tel: 020 7417 8989

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