PURE to Offer Property-Casualty Insurance for South Carolina's High-Value Homes

New Insurer Leverages Success in Other Complex Coastal Markets to
Launch Its Expansion
CHARLESTON, S.C.--(Business Wire)--
Ross Buchmueller, president and chief executive officer with PURE
Risk Management, today announced the South Carolina launch of
Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), a specialist
insurer dedicated exclusively to serving the owners of high-value
homes insured for more than $1 million.

PURE will offer comprehensive coverage, including windstorm
coverage, for large, well-built South Carolina homes that meet the
standards of the latest building codes. PURE also will offer
automobile, jewelry and art, personal-excess liability and watercraft
coverage.

"PURE's expansion to South Carolina comes at a crucial time during
our state's insurance crisis, when the limited capacity of our current
insurance carriers and the restrictions of the South Carolina Wind &
Hail Underwriting Association have led to a challenging environment of
high prices, unregulated coverage and limited choices for customers,"
said Bobby Collins, a longtime insurance-industry expert and business
leader selected by PURE to run its South Carolina operations. "The
wind pool is ill-equipped to deal with high-value homes as it limits
the amount of coverage and the type of coverage available."

"PURE is a welcomed solution that provides significant benefits
including high-value homeowners insurance with wind and hail coverage,
competitive rates that are subject to regulation, customized insurance
programs and outstanding service," Collins added.

Other PURE benefits include:

-- Hurricane and named-storm deductibles that range from 2% to
25% of the policies' dwelling limits

-- Additional coverage to allow members to make environmentally
friendly upgrades after property losses, including upgrades
for vehicles that are total losses

-- Customized, competitively priced jewelry insurance coverage

-- Competitive auto-insurance coverage for households that have
more cars than drivers

-- Online quote indications, personalized customer service, and
prompt, expert claims service

"PURE looks forward to meeting the insurance needs of the owners
of high-value homes in South Carolina," said Ross Buchmueller, who
served as president of AIG Private Client Group from its inception in
1999 until he founded PURE Risk Management in 2006. "Although the
South Carolina market is unique, our successful history in Florida
demonstrates our ability to understand complex coastal markets and
provide competitive rates and effective solutions. Our selective
underwriting enables us to provide higher quality coverage and more
personalized service at significantly lower costs."

Following its formation in late 2006, PURE has focused on
providing insurance solutions for its members (policyholders) in
Florida. PURE currently provides coverage to more than 2,000 members
in Florida and has issued almost 4,000 policies throughout that state.
Its methodical expansion includes working closely with the Institute
for Business and Home Safety to identify local communities that meet
Florida's building codes as well as PURE's stringent construction
eligibility criteria. The company is doing the same in South Carolina.

PURE is unique in that it is a reciprocal exchange committed to
ensuring the transparency of its operations. PURE is owned by its
policyholders (members) who pay a surplus contribution of 10% of their
high-value homeowners' and watercraft premiums and 4% of their premium
for all other policies for each of the first five years of
membership). PURE currently has more than $50 million of policyholder
surplus, fueled in part by these surplus contributions. If at the end
of the year, the members' premiums prove to exceed the cost of
providing insurance, PURE will return the balance as a dividend or
credit to each member through a Subscriber Savings Account (SSA). PURE
issues non-assessable policies, so its members' liabilities are
limited to the costs of their respective policies. PURE has been
awarded a Financial Stability Rating of "A" (exceptional).

PURE Risk Management LLC acts as attorney-in-fact for PURE and
provides management services including underwriting, marketing,
product management, financial oversight and claims handling.

About PURE

Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE) is the first
property-casualty insurance company dedicated exclusively to insuring
successful families. PURE is a Florida-domiciled reciprocal insurance
exchange. PURE provides its members with comprehensive high-value
homeowners' insurance policies, including windstorm and optional
excess flood coverage, for Florida and South Carolina homes insured
for greater than $1 million that are built to the standards of the
latest building codes. It also provides private fleet auto insurance,
including agreed-value settlements for total losses, and insurance for
jewelry and art. PURE also offers watercraft insurance and personal
excess liability coverage with limits ranging from $5 million to $10
million. For more information, visit www.purehnw.com.

Editor's Note: Interviews with PURE's executives and policyholders
available upon request.

For PURE Risk Management, Charleston
MediaLine Marketing Communications
Jolie Balido, 305-586-0419
jolie@medialinemc.com
or
Jeannie Salameh, 727-644-5010
jeannie@medialinemc.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008