February 26, 2009

FM Global Ranked #1 by U.S. Companies in the Five Most Critical Areas of Insurance Carrier Performance, Independent Study Finds

JOHNSTON, R.I.—U.S. corporate insurance buyers have ranked commercial property insurer FM Global as number one in each of the five areas seen to be the most important drivers of insurance carrier value. Those findings come from the latest independent research conducted by Greenwich Associates, a leading international research firm in institutional financial services.

FM Global was rated highest for "overall customer service," "underwriting expertise," "ease of working relationship," "claims processing responsiveness" and "willingness to pay claims," according to Greenwich Associates‘ annual rankings of insurance carriers and the services and characteristics that companies value most in their insurance carriers.

"FM Global was the only insurance carrier to have a leading position in each of the five most critical areas of carrier performance," said David D. Fox, Greenwich Associates‘ managing director. "The ranking is based entirely on ratings provided by large U.S. companies."

In 2008, FM Global‘s client-retention rate was nearly 95 percent—substantially higher than the industry average, reported Ruud Bosman, vice chairman, FM Global. "We‘re pleased that, as a mutual company, FM Global‘s policyholders, who are our owners, have a high level of confidence in our ability to smoothly and seamlessly deliver our products and services to them on a worldwide basis."

Greenwich Associates‘ determined the key drivers of carrier value by calculating the correlation between quality ratings—assigned to carriers by corporate clients in a range of product and service categories—with carriers‘ overall scores for client loyalty, measured as "willingness to recommend." Interviews were conducted with insurance professionals at 669 U.S. companies with annual sales of US$500 million or greater. Interview participants were asked about their own companies‘ property and casualty risk management practices and strategies, which included the carriers from whom they purchase coverage and insurance-related services. Respondents evaluated their primary carriers on more than 30 distinct service performance factors.

To view a summary of the findings from Greenwich Associates, click here.

Established nearly 175 years ago, FM Global ranks 583 among Fortune magazine‘s largest companies in America. More than one out of every three Fortune 1000 companies and similar-sized organizations operating in more than 130 countries work with FM Global to develop robust property insurance and engineering solutions to protect their business operations from fire, natural disasters and other types of property risk. The company has been named "Best Property Insurer in the World" by Euromoney magazine and "Best Global Property Insurer" by Global Finance magazine. The company is rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best and AA (Very Strong) by Fitch Ratings.

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