FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE LICENSES STATE BASED SYSTEMS

NEW YORK (March 10, 2007) — The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today announced that the North Carolina Department of Insurance has signed a licensing agreement to implement State Based Systems (SBS).

“We, here at the North Carolina Department of Insurance, are very excited to be making this commitment to the NAIC’s State Based Systems solution,” said Jim Long, North Carolina Insurance Commissioner and NAIC Most–Immediate Past President.

“SBS is an ideal choice for us, as it will enable the Department to focus state IT resources in areas that need technical attention. In partnering with our Member Association, we are able to leverage the NAIC’s technical expertise and benefit from a full suite of Web–based tools, complete integration with other NAIC systems such as I-Site and the System for Electronic Rate and Form Filing (SERFF), and maintain compliance with NAIC initiatives in a more timely manner than is possible with limited state resources.”

“Adding North Carolina to the SBS family is very exciting,” said Catherine J. Weatherford, NAIC Executive Vice President and CEO. “This is a testament to the many benefits the NAIC can provide for its membership via high–quality, efficient technical tools that support their everyday functions. We are so happy to be able to bring North Carolina on board and help the Department serve their constituents effectively, and allow more efficient use of their resources to better serve consumers.”

About State Based Systems

SBS was developed by the NAIC in an effort to provide a cost–effective and efficient back–office processing system for the states, minimizing the need to acquire financial and human resources to support producer licensing, company licensing and analysis, consumer services, enforcement, fraud, and revenue management. SBS also touts sophisticated correspondence and document tracking features, as well as easy–to–use, flexible reporting and data–extract features.

Designed to cater to the unique needs and best interests of each state insurance department, SBS is offered to the departments as a benefit of their NAIC membership in an effort to simplify and enhance state insurance regulation processes. The NAIC builds and maintains SBS, provides technical support and system training, and hosts the SBS application and database for each licensed state.

The system offers a variety of services that assist consumers in safely choosing insurance providers. It also provides insurance companies and producers with increased access to information and real–time tools that make the application and approval processes more efficient. Used in conjunction with other NAIC technical offerings, SBS can significantly reduce a state’s financial and human resources by providing support for daily regulatory activities. As a result, this leaves the state insurance department with more resources to devote to other initiatives.

In addition to North Carolina, SBS is currently the solution of choice in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Iowa, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island. For more information, visit SBS on the Web at: www.statebasedsystems.com.

About the NAIC

Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is a voluntary organization of the chief insurance regulatory officials of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories. The NAIC’s overriding objective is to assist state insurance regulators in protecting consumers and helping maintain the financial stability of the insurance industry by offering financial, actuarial, legal, computer, research, market conduct and economic expertise. Formed in 1871, the NAIC is the oldest association of state officials. For more than 135 years, state-based insurance supervision has served the needs of consumers, industry and the business of insurance at-large by ensuring hands-on, frontline protection for consumers, while providing insurers the uniform platforms and coordinated systems they need to compete effectively in an ever-changing marketplace. For more information, visit NAIC on the Web at: http://www.naic.org/press_home.htm.

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