Golden Gate Capital and Securitas Capital, LLC Announce Formation of California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Company

GLENDALE, CA (January 3, 2003) – Golden Gate Capital and Securitas Capital, LLC are pleased to announce the formation of Employers Direct Insurance Company (EDIC), a California-domiciled insurance company that will provide workers’ compensation insurance products in California primarily on a direct basis.

Headquartered in Glendale, California, EDIC addresses the gap between supply and demand in the California workers’ compensation market. Benefiting from an unimpaired capital base, EDIC will focus on building strong client relationships to implement appropriate safety programs and aggressive claims management strategies.

James E. Little, President and CEO, and Ronald A. Groden, CFO, lead a senior management team that has more than a century of combined experience in the workers’ compensation market. Messrs. Little and Groden have previously served as senior executives of several successful California workers’ compensation companies.

“The California workers’ compensation market has recently experienced significant turbulence, and we believe it has reached an inflection point,” said Jesse Rogers, a Managing Director at Golden Gate Capital. “We are excited to partner with Securitas and management to form a new direct writer to fill the void caused by competitor insolvencies and to capitalize on the recent trends in pricing. We hope to create a world-class franchise for workers’ compensation insurance in California.”

Russell E. Leatherby, former Chairman and CEO of UniCare Insurance Company, a California workers’ compensation insurance company, will be joining the Company’s Board of Directors. Commenting on the formation of EDIC, Mr. Leatherby said, “The California workers’ compensation market is in desperate need of a new company that can lead the way out of the current crisis. EDIC will represent the new standard of high-quality service and affordable workers’ compensation insurance in the state of California.”

About Golden Gate Capital

Golden Gate Capitalis a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with approximately $700 million of capital under management. Golden Gate is dedicated to partnering with world class management teams to invest in change-intensive, growth businesses. They target investments of up to $100 million in situations where there is a demonstrable opportunity to significantly enhance a company’s value. The principals of Golden Gate have a long and successful history of investing with management partners across a wide rage of industries and transaction types, including leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, corporate divestitures and spin-offs, build-ups and venture stage investing. For more information, visit www.goldengatecap.com.

Securitas Capital, LLC

Securitas Capital, LLC is a global private equity investment firm sponsored by Swiss Reinsurance Company. The firm specializes in investing in the insurance, risk management and financial services industries and manages investment funds with aggregate capital commitments of USD 600 million. Securitas Capital has offices in London, New York, San Francisco and Zurich.