Kingsway Taps The Robert Plan to Manage Auto Assigned Risk in U.S.

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. of Toronto has entered into a program management agreement with The Robert Plan Corporation. to have RPC service its U.S. assigned risk automobile accounts.
The agreement is effective for new and renewal business on and after January 1, 2006.

Kingsway is a large insurer of trucks and non-standard auto insurance policies. RPC provides underwriting and claims administration services to U.S. insurance companies seeking to transfer their assigned risk obligations to a specialist for a fee.

According to Bill Star, president and chief executive officer of Kingsway Financial Services Inc., the deal is in keeping with its plan for expansion. “This transaction is consistent with our strategy of growing our marketshare in the minimum limits non-standard automobile business in the United States,” he said.

In certain U.S. states, drivers who cannot obtain insurance in the voluntary market are placed in an assigned risk plan. These insureds are then proportionately assigned to all automobile insurers that do business in that given state. RPC is a large player in the assigned risk automobile market.

RPC has been in operation since the early 1950s and since the 1980s has specialized in the underwriting and servicing of assigned risks for personal and commercial automobile policies. For the first nine months of 2005, RPC generated gross premiums written of approximately $185 million and for the year-ended December 31, 2004 generated gross premiums written of approximately $250 million.

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. is the largest truck insurer in North America and the seventh largest non-standard automobile insurer in North America, according to A.M.Best. Kingsway’s primary business is trucking insurance and the insuring of non-standard automobile risks. The company currently operates through 11 wholly-owned insurance subsidiaries in Canada and the U.S.. Canadian subsidiaries include Kingsway General Insurance Company, York Fire & Casualty Insurance Company and Jevco Insurance Company.

Kingsway’s U.S. subsidiaries include Universal Casualty Company, American Service Insurance Company, Southern United Fire Insurance Company, Lincoln General Insurance Company, U.S. Security Insurance Company, American Country Insurance Company, Zephyr Insurance Company and Avalon Risk Management, Inc.

The company also operates reinsurance subsidiaries in Barbados and Bermuda.

Lincoln General Insurance Company, Universal Casualty Insurance Company, Jevco Insurance Company and Kingsway Reinsurance (Bermuda) are all rated “A-” Excellent by A.M. Best. Kingsway General, York Fire and American Service are rated “B++” (very good). The company’s senior debt is rated investment grade “BBB- “(stable) by Standard and Poor’s and “BBB” (stable) by Dominion Bond Rating Services.

The common shares of Kingsway Financial Services Inc. are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, under the trading symbol “KFS”.