For More Informaton:
Ken Mitchell
919-882-3500
kmitchell@stonewoodins.com

Stonewood Insurance Company Receives License to Write Workers’ Compensation

November 18, 2003, Raleigh, NC – Stonewood Insurance Company (Stonewood) is pleased to announce that the North Carolina Department of Insurance has approved its license to write workers’ compensation effective November 12, 2003. Stonewood was incorporated in North Carolina on October 16, 2003 and was created to provide workers’ compensation insurance for the residential construction industry.

Headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, Stonewood will begin underwriting operations in December 2003. Stonewood will operate through a limited number of independent agents across North Carolina. Ken Mitchell has been named President and Chief Executive Officer and will lead Stonewood’s management team.

"We believe that the continuing hard market and lack of capacity by traditional insurance companies to write workers’ compensation provides a favorable environment for Stonewood to make a solid entry into the insurance marketplace, " said Ken Mitchell, Stonewood President and Chief Executive Officer, "and we are committed to building a company that will be recognized as a leader in the insurance industry."

Mitchell brings extensive leadership experience to Stonewood and has been directly responsible for the development, start-up and success of a self-insured workers’ compensation fund, a health benefit trust and a mutual, multi-line insurance company. Mitchell was inducted into the 1996 class of the National Housing Hall of Fame, in recognition of his national leadership in the field of insurance and he served on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Self Insurance Guaranty Association from its inception in 1986 through serving as Chairman from 1994 to 1997. Mitchell earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama, where he played football on the National Championship Team coached by Paul "Bear" Bryant in 1964.

In forming Stonewood, Mitchell was eager to assemble a winning team with deep levels of experience in underwriting the niche market of residential construction. Dedicated to offering outstanding service to agents and policyholders, Stonewood will also distinguish itself by providing state-of-the-art information systems that allow agents to access and verify information, run reports, submit applications and receive quotes in real time via the Internet.

Stonewood is a wholly owned subsidiary of James River Group, Inc., an insurance holding company based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina led by J. Adam Abram. James River Group, Inc. was created in September 2002 to own and operate property and casualty insurance companies managed by executives with proven track records. James River Specialty is the trade name for James River Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, which are Stonewood Insurance Company and James River Insurance Company, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia and specializing in excess and surplus lines.

"Several factors influenced our decision to enter the excess and surplus arena, but the most powerful attraction of all was that we had an experienced management team available to lead our entry into this segment," said J. Adam Abram, President and Chief Executive Officer of James River Group, Inc. "When we encountered a management team with one of the country’s best long-term records as workers’ compensation underwriters, we were interested in finding a way to involve them in James River Group, Inc," said Abram.

About Stonewood Insurance Company
Licensed in November 2003, Stonewood provides workers’ compensation insurance for homebuilders, including general contractors and related artisan contractors, operating within the state of North Carolina. Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Stonewood Insurance Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of James River Group, Inc. For more information on Stonewood, please contact Ken Mitchell, 919-882-3500, kmitchell@stonewoodins.com.