QBE Regional Insurance, President & CEO to Retire at Year End

John Pollock to Retire at Year End SUN PRAIRIE, Wis., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- QBE the Americas announcedearlier today that President and CEO John Pollock will retire at year-endafter 29 years of service to the company. John will continue as chairman ofthe General Casualty and Unigard board of directors. Peter Christen, thecurrent President and CEO of the company's Unigard subsidiaries, has beennamed as Pollock's successor. Christen has served in several leadershippositions within the group over the past 27 years. Pete McPartland, thecurrent President and CEO of the General Casualty companies with 13 yearsof service, will also assume the newly created role of COO of QBE RegionalInsurance, reporting directly to Mr. Christen. QBE Regional Companies (N.A.), Inc., formerly Winterthur U.S. Holdings,Inc. was acquired by the QBE Insurance Group from the AXA Group earlierthis year, becoming part of its Americas Division. The General Casualty andUnigard companies, along with the National Farmers Union Insurancecompanies and QBE AGRI Insurance, form the QBE Regional Insurance pillar ofQBE the Americas. Pollock stated, "My primary focus for some time has been to secure anew owner for our organization that valued our people, our agents, and ourbusiness. The completion of our acquisition by QBE has delivered the rightowner, allowing me to consider this move with the confidence that we alsohave the right team in place to lead the company into this new era." Christen stated, "I have worked alongside John for a long time and havea deep appreciation of his dedication to our companies. I am lookingforward to working with him as I transition into his position and incontinuing his dedication and leadership." McPartland added, "John's visionover the years has allowed us to become a market leader. I will enjoy theopportunity of working with Peter in leading our regional companies intothis new chapter of their histories." Tim Kenny, President and CEO of QBE the Americas, stated, "We aregrateful that John will continue to be a resource as we transition QBERegional into the QBE Group in the coming months. Together with Peter, Peteand their management team, we are committed to achieving a seamlesstransition for our agents and policyholders, and have been delighted bytheir response to the acquisition." QBE Regional Insurance, based in Sun Prairie, Wis., specializes inproperty and casualty insurance through two subsidiaries: General Casualty(Sun Prairie) and Unigard (Bellevue, Wash.). The company's operationsrecorded direct written premiums last year of $1.5 billion and employ morethan 2,100 people across the U.S. QBE Regional Insurance is a member of theQBE Insurance Group, based in Australia and one of the top 25 insurersworldwide, with assets of $26.5 billion. QBE Regional Insurance is part ofQBE's Americas division, the 18th largest U.S. insurer. With additionaloperations in Latin America, QBE the Americas estimates gross writtenpremiums of $4.6 billion for 2007 and a combined surplus of approximately$2.0 billion. A.M. Best rates the group "A" (Excellent).