First Guard Insurance Company Receives Rating Upgrade

VENICE, FL - Rating firm A. M. Best upgraded First Guard Insurance Company yesterday from B++ (very good) to A- (excellent). Best sited First Guard's consistently favorable operating results, solid capitalization and conservative investment strategies as the basis for the rating upgrade.

First Guard Insurance Company began operations in 1997. Yesterday 1st Guard Corporation Chairman, Ed Campbell, III remarked. "We started First Guard Insurance Company to reinsure our truck physical damage program. In that capacity the company has performed extremely well. Our customers have enjoyed stable rates, and we have sidestepped the reinsurance problems that continue to plague so many other trucking programs. Now we want to take the process further and position First Guard Insurance Company to write business directly. The rating upgrade we received yesterday will certainly facilitate this course of action."

The upgrade for First Guard Insurance Company comes at a time when many insurance companies have actually seen their ratings decline. Poor underwriting results and a weak investment environment have hit the insurance industry particularly hard. In contrast, First Guard Insurance Company has always generated an underwriting profit. Annually it has outperformed the industry's loss ratio for automobile physical damage coverage by roughly 10 points. The company has avoided stock market losses by keeping its capital invested exclusively in U.S. Treasuries.

Advancements in Paperwork Reduction

VENICE, FL - In an effort to eliminate customer paperwork and make it easier than ever to buy truck insurance, 1st Guard Corporation has introduced digital voice authorization. Filling out paperwork to join their popular automatic credit card and direct debit (ACH) programs is now a thing of the past. New voice digitizing techniques designed by 1st Guard's® in house software developers allow customers to give voice authorizations over the phone.

"This eliminates the faxing of hard to read forms and the added frustration of filling them out." Said company president, Donna Fortuna. "We only recently added this capability and it has been an instant success. Almost all of our customers now choose this method of payment authorization. We believe people are fed up with the mounds of paperwork required by many providers of truck insurance and are turning to 1st Guard®."

INTERNET DIVISION REPORTS FIRST PROFIT

VENICE, FL - The Internet sales division of insurance firm 1st Guard Corporation reported a profit in January of 2003 after just five months in operation. The company anticipates that the division will remain profitable and expects profit margins and sales volume to show further increases in the months to come.

"We're fourteen months ahead of our target." Said division manager, Walt Augustinowicz. "The demand for on-line insurance quotations and policy service has surpassed all expectations."
The company attributes its on-line success to a combination of factors. 1st Guard® invested very heavily in Internet delivery technology in the late nineties. Now the company enjoys an edge over its competitors at a time when interest in the Internet among truckers is surging. Today most trucking companies have high speed Internet networks and increasingly owner operator truckers keep track of their expenses and stay in touch with their families using laptop computers.

"We don't require you to enter tons of personal information to get a firm insurance quotation. We developed this site with the customer's privacy and convenience considerations in mind."

2002 FLEET OF THE YEAR CHOSEN

VENICE, FL - Insurance firm 1st Guard Corporation has awarded its prestigious "Fleet of the Year" designation for 2002 to DD&S Express. Traditionally this annual honor goes to the trucking company with the lowest physical damage loss ratio and strongest safety program. The loss ratio measures the percentage of premium dollars paid out in claims. Usually it figures highly into the determination of insurance costs. In general insurers consider a loss ratio of 50% or less very favorable.

"Although many fleets performed well in 2002, DD&S won the award hands down," said 1st Guard® Chairman Ed Campbell. "They remained claim free all year. For a company of their size, a zero percent loss ratio is unheard of and speaks volumes about the quality of their drivers and the commitment of their management team to safety."

DD&S Express was established in 1986 as a division of the Davidson Transfer & Storage Company, headquartered in Baltimore. The company offers heavy and specialized transportation along with standard shipments. Determined to win the award, DD&S fine-tuned its safety programs. And the effort paid off handsomely. According to DD&S Vice President, Bob Schuhmann, "The accompanying favorable publicity that goes hand in hand with winning this award only adds to the sense of accomplishment. We've always run a great trucking company. The "Fleet of the Year" designation validates our story for everyone we do business with now and everyone we hope to do business with in the future."

1st Guard Corporation started the "Fleet of the Year" competition in 1997. In 2003 they decided to post the results on their website 1stguard.com to give worldwide recognition to the company's best customers.