James River has implemented today a number of enhancements in its Small Business – Casualty division including increased new business commissions competitive with traditional MGA commission structures for online submissions. In addition, James River will now accept new business submissions by email through its SB@jamesriverins.com box. Previously, all submissions had to be submitted through the broker area on www.jamesriverins.com.

Other changes include streamlined online submissions allowing users to select and access the most efficient way for them to submit online – either through James River’s Quote2Bind® indicate/quote/bind module or for direct underwriter referral and online clearance through its Submit2Bind online module.

New Small Account renewal processing procedures will be forthcoming later in the fall!

Contact: marketing@jamesriverins.com for more information.

A.M. Best Company has affirmed (again) the A- (Excellent) rating for James River Insurance Company (A.M. Best #12604, NAIC #12203) with a Stable outlook effective June 21, 2011.

Our Financial Size Category remains IX ($250 Million to $500 Million).

For more information, please see www.ambest.com or you can link to the AM Best Co. page from our homepage at www.jamesriverins.com.

Our friend and colleague, Catherine Williams, was killed in a boating accident Friday, June 3, 2011. She left behind her first-grade daughter.

James River has opened a 529 College Savings plan for Catherine’s daughter and made a very generous contribution to the plan. 

To make a contribution, send a check payable to Virginia College Savings Plan to their office located at 9001 Arboretum Parkway, Richmond, VA 23236.  The account number is 10263182 and must be included on the memo line of the check to ensure the contribution is posted to the correct account.

Catherine joined James River in 2004 and for the past several years has played a key role as Senior Underwriter in our Medical Professionals division. She will be sorely missed.

Please direct any questions to John Clarke, Senior Vice-President, at john.clarke@jamesriverins.com.

Thanks.

Our revised Loss Run format is now available by logging into the Broker Area of www.jamesriverins.com.

We’ve a number of improvements requested by our brokers over the years including:

• A Claim Summary right on top, combining all losses associated with a particular insured and organized by policy period;
• Detail by Claimant breaking out Reserved and Paid amounts for Indemnity and Expenses components;
• Detail on Recoveries-to-date (like deductibles);
• Case Descriptions;
• Coverage and Status.

It’s all part improving our underwriting capabilities, our service, and our overall utility to you so that we can be the best specialty insurer in the industry!

Todd Bigler has joined James River Insurance Company to lead the development of our new Scottsdale, AZ office. The Scottsdale office will open in mid-to-late February and will be an extension of our Richmond underwriting divisions focusing initially on our Primary and Excess Casualty product lines.

Todd comes to us from Scottsdale Insurance Company where he has served since 1989 in a variety of underwriting and underwriting management roles. Since 2003, Todd has served as manager of the Brokerage Special Risk division responsible for large account and program offerings. Todd brings a wide breadth of experience, including nine years managing Scottsdale’s department focused on Media and Agents E&O, and six years both underwriting and/or managing the brokerage Excess/Umbrella casualty area. Prior to joining Scottsdale, Todd gained experience with another E&S carrier and worked with a wholesale MGA/Broker in Los Angeles.

Contact: marketing@jamesriverins.com for more information.

A.M. Best Company has affirmed the A- (Excellent) rating for James River Insurance Company (A.M. Best #12604, NAIC #12203) with a Stable outlook effective June 22, 2010. Our Financial Size Category remains IX ($250 Million to $500 Million).

For more information, please see www.ambest.com or you can link to the rating at A.M. Best Co. from our homepage at www.jamesriverins.com.

We are excited to announce that John Rich has joined James River as the Underwriting Manager of the Environmental Division. John's career in insurance spans almost 30 years. For over half of his career John has specialized in underwriting Environmental risks working for insurance companies such as AIG, Seneca, and American Safety. He can be reached at john.rich@jamesriverins.com or 804-289-2133.

A number of our most commonly requested small Artisan Contractor classes are now available to you online 24/7 using the Quote2Bind service in the Broker Area of www.jamesriverins.com! See the website for an up-to-date listing, but some of the newly added classes include Carpenters, Plumbers, Electricians, Drywall installers, and there are many more. "Small business" to us means "less than $10,000" in annual GL premium. Larger accounts should be sent to MC@jamesriverins.com.

If you have not tried our Quote2Bind system before, now is the time!

James River Announces Executive Promotions: Richard Schmitzer has been named President and CEO of James River Insurance Company and its affiliate James River Management Company. He succeeds Joseph F. Morris who will become Managing Director of Corporate Development at James River Group, Inc., the Parent company of James River Insurance Company. Mr. Schmitzer joined James River in July 2009 as Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer from more than eighteen years at the Scottsdale Insurance Company where he served in a variety of underwriting and underwriting management roles. Since joining James River, he has been responsible for all of James River''s underwriting direction.

James River has added Truckers and Warehouses to the list of available classes in its Quote2Bind product on www.jamesriverins.com. Quote2Bind gives James River brokers the ability to quote and bind select classes online for in its Small Account-Casualty area (for accounts up to about $10,000 in annual GL premium).

James River is open for business in Ohio effective immediately and can now write on a surplus lines basis in all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia. Accounts located in Ohio will be written by James River Casualty Company (JRCC), a newly formed subsidiary of James River Insurance Company (JRIC). JRCC carries the same A.M. Best Company rating of A-(Excellent) Financial Size IX as JRIC. The NAIC number for JRCC is 13685.

David Weisenberger has been appointed Vice-President and will lead the James River divisions focused on professional liability including Allied Healthcare, Medical Professionals, and Professional Liability (Non-Medical). David joins us from 17-years at Markel Corporation, where he was most recently a Managing Director directing a number of casualty lines in their wholesale distribution channel. David brings hands-on experience in hard-to-place physicians, specified medical professionals, architect & engineers, and a wide variety of miscellaneous E&O professionals having twice worked within the Markel’s Shand-Morahan division where he started and ran the Richmond-based Professional Liability underwriting for Markel’s MGA clients.

James River introduced new functionality to its online Small Account-Casualty offering today. Quote2Bind allows James River brokers to quote and bind online for select classes in our Small Account-Casualty area (for accounts up to about $10,000 in annual GL premium). It''s designed to save brokers time by providing them with an indication quickly with only minimal information required. If they are interested in the indication, the broker can continue to add information and firm-up a “bindable” quote 24/7. Initially, only Building & Premises, Habitational, and Vacant Buildings classes are available for self-service Quote2Bind. Small contractors and risks that don''t qualify for online binding will continue to be referred straight off the system to an underwriter and quoted within a few hours. New classes will be added to Quote2Bind in the months ahead.

A.M. Best Company has affirmed its A- (Excellent) rating of James River Insurance Company (ID number: 12604) with a Stable outlook effective June 17, 2009. Our Financial Size category has increased to IX ($250 Million to $500 Million). James River Insurance Company''s rating now carries the “g” group modifier from A.M. Best and is rated as part of the Franklin Holdings Group. For more information, please see www.ambest.com or you can link to the rating from the Homepage of this website.

Richard Schmitzer has been appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Mr. Schmitzer will lead all underwriting divisions within the company and begin in this new role in late July. Mr. Schmitzer comes to James River from Scottsdale Insurance Company where he has served since 1990 in a variety of underwriting and underwriting management roles. Since 2003, Richard has held the position of Vice-President, leading Scottsdale's Brokerage and Professional Lines divisions.

James River’s Allied Healthcare division expands its Specialized Medical Facilities offerings in three main areas: Medical Clinics, Laboratories, and Rehab Facilities. Our focus is on physician or independently-owned facilities operating on an outpatient basis only. Medical Clinics perform general diagnostic, therapeutic and preventative procedures and include Urgent care centers, dialysis clinics crisis, community health and wellness clinics and others. In the Medical Lab area, we will consider a wide of testing and diagnostic protocols. Rehabilitation Facilities include occupational therapy clinics, counseling services, cardiac rehab, drug and alcohol rehab centers, spinal cord and brain injury facilities. Contact your Allied Healthcare underwriter for more information.

James River announces a new product for Discontinued Products liability. Written in the Manufacturers & Contractors division, the appetite for Discontinued Products is a natural extension of our broad products appetite. We will consider M&A deals, shut downs, and specific discontinued products “carved out” of programs for ongoing entities. Primary limits are available to $1/2 million with additional limits to $5 million in combination with our Excess Casualty department. Contact your M&C underwriter for more information.

James River announces the addition of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) to its healthcare-related product offerings. Written in the Allied Healthcare division, the focus is on independently-owned ASCs. Limits up to $5 million are available in both General and Professional Liability. Medical professional liability is available for direct patient care. This new facility will consider a broad array of hazard categories including many higher hazard classes. Contact your Allied Healthcare underwriter for more information.

James River increases its available capacity for Catastrophe-exposed accounts up to $15,000,000 expanding its offering in Excess Property, effective immediately. Excess target accounts are participatory or layered schedules of property with values up to $1 billion, provided that there are 50 locations or fewer and with no more than $100 million exposed in a single location. Coverage is available for a broad array of occupancies. For more details, contact XP@jamesriverins.com or your underwriter.

New Hampshire approves James River Insurance Company as an Eligible Surplus Lines Carrier effective immediately. The approved carrier list can be seen in its entirely on the NH DOI website: (http://www.nh.gov/insurance/companies/documents/surpluslist2008.pdf)

Ohio is the only state remaining where we are not authorized to write on a surplus lines basis (it is our state of domicile). We expect to have a surplus lines solution for Ohio in 2009.

Joseph F. Morris has been named President and CEO of James River Insurance Company effective August 25, 2008. Mr. Morris has over twenty-eight years of insurance industry experience and most recently served as President and CEO of The Philadelphia Contributionship, the oldest insurance company in the United States. Previously, Mr. Morris had been President of United America Indemnity, Ltd., a specialty insurance holding Company and President and CEO of Penn-America Group, a specialty property and casualty company with extensive excess and surplus lines writings. Prior to serving as President and CEO of Penn-America Group, Inc., Mr. Morris was its Chief Financial Officer.

James River introduces a new service within its Allied Healthcare underwriting division: Allied Healthcare Express (AH Express). AH Express

James River introduces Excess Casualty Express (XC Express), a new service within its Excess Casualty division. XC Express is designed for smaller, more straightforward accounts, typically with annual revenues of less than $2 million and primary GL premiums under $15,000. Minimum premiums start at $1000 per million. Limits up to $5 million are available. Authorized brokers may submit to XCExpress@jamesriverins.com. Larger and more complex business should continue to be submitted to XC@jamesriverins.com.

A.M. Best Company has affirmed its A- (Excellent) Financial Size VIII rating of James River Insurance Company (ID number: 12604) effective June 2, 2008. For more information, please see www.ambest.com or you can link to the rating from our homepage at www.jamesriverins.com.

James River Group, Inc., parent of James River Insurance Company, today announced the completion of its previously announced merger with a subsidiary of Franklin Holdings (Bermuda), Ltd., a Bermuda-based holding company whose investors include entities in the D.E. Shaw group; The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.; Sunlight Capital, a private equity-oriented affiliate of Elliott Associates, L.P.; and Lehman Brothers. Read Full Release

James River Group, Inc. (James River) (Nasdaq: JRVR) today announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement under which a Bermuda-based holding company organized by the D. E. Shaw group, a global investment management firm, will acquire James River in a transaction with a total equity value of approximately $575 million. Under the terms of the merger agreement, stockholders of James River will be entitled to receive $34.50 in cash per share. Read Full Release

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed today the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) of James River Insurance Company (JRIC). The outlook for this rating is stable. According to the notes released by A.M. Best Co., the ratings for JRIC “reflect its solid operating profitability, strong capitalization and the financial support provided by James River (Group, Inc.)” James River Group is the parent, holding company for JRIC.

James River introduces Elite Provider, a new Medical Professional Liability product underwritten in its Healthcare Division. Elite Provider will offer a broadened coverage grant for providers meeting preferred underwriting guidelines. Elite Provider is intended for qualifying providers unable to obtain coverage in the admitted market including Board Certified Medical Doctors, Osteopathic Doctors, Dentists (Orthodontists, Periodontists and Oral Surgeons), Doctors of Podiatric Medicine, and others. Elite Provide will complement James River’s current underwriting of medical professional liability for more non-standard physicians, which is offered in more the twenty states today.

James River’s Small Care Homes product is now available online in the www.jamesriverins.com Small Accounts area. The Small Care Homes product is the latest addition to the growing list of web-based offerings in our Small Accounts facility. This liability-only product is intended for 12-bed and under Residential Care facilities, Assisted Living Homes for the Elderly, Board and Care Homes, Group Homes for the Mentally/Physically disabled, and more.

A.M. Best Company has affirmed its A- (Excellent) Financial Size VIII rating of James River Insurance Company (ID number: 12604) effective May 30, 2006. For more information, please see www.ambest.com or you can link to the rating from our homepage at www.jamesriverins.com.

A new division focusing on the Sports & Entertainment industry is announced today. Although James River has always underwritten selectively in this area through its General Casualty division, a dedicated underwriting team is now in place allowing the company to expand its writings to include a wider array of more complex exposures including Amateur sports including legal liability to participants, Arenas and Stadiums, Casinos, Professional and semi-professional sports organizations, Special Events of all kinds, Sports complexes, Theatrical Production companies and many other similar risks.

James River introduces a new Trustees E&O product through our Professional Liability Division. This product will focus on trustees of self insured funds with less than $5 billion in assets. Target Risks include Worker’s Compensation, Employee Benefits, P&C Funds, Unemployment Compensation and Liability Trusts and Funds. Minimum Premium is $5,000.

A.M. Best Co. has increased the Financial Size rating for James River Insurance Company from VII to VIII. The link to the A.M. Best Co. page reflecting our current rating may be linked directly from the home page at www.jamesriverins.com or visit www.ambest.com form more information.

James River introduces the Small Business – General Casualty division. This new underwriting division will focus on OL&T and premises-driven GL risks initially. Accounts sizes targeted are from $500 to $10,000. All business must be submitted through the Small Business portal on www.jamesriverins.com. This area will roll out to all authorized James River brokers over the next few months.

James River Insurance Company has re-opened its Excess Property facility for new business to its authorized brokers effective today, ending the suspension of underwriting announced on September 30 resulting from greater-than-anticipated losses from Hurricane Katrina. The Excess Property facility writes Buffer Layers, Excess Layers, and Participatory Excess placements on a Follow-Form Multi-peril, Wind-only or DIC basis. Wind Deductible Buybacks and other specialty structures are also considered.

James River Insurance Company re-opens its Primary Property facility for new business to its authorized brokers effective today, ending the suspension of underwriting announced on September 30 resulting from greater-than-anticipated losses from Hurricane Katrina. Geographic restrictions have been expanded regarding wind coverage. Re-opening of the Excess Property facility is expected shortly.

James River Group, Inc., parent to James River Insurance Company, announced this morning that the loss arising from Hurricane Katrina will exceed the original estimate resulting in a net loss after tax and reinsurance reinstatements in a range between $14 and $16 million. Read Full Release

James River Group Inc., parent to James River Insurance Company, on Friday set its planned initial public offering at 4.44 million shares for an estimated price of $16 to $18 each. The underwriters, led by Keefe Bruyette & Woods, will have the option to buy an additional 666,600 shares to cover over-allotments. Bear Stearns & Co., Friedman Billings Ramsey and Wachovia Securities will assist in the underwriting. The company intends to list its stock on the NASDAQ under the symbol “JRVR”..

A.M. Best Company reaffirms its A- (Excellent) VII rating of James River Insurance Company (ID number:12604). For further information please visit www.ambest.com.

James River is pleased to announce the opening of its new Life Sciences division. As an expansion of its growing Healthcare and Allied Healthcare underwriting divisions, the new Life Sciences area will write general and products liability, including professional liability, for Human Clinical Trials, Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical / Biotech Products and Development, Biologics, and “Nutraceuticals.”

James River Energy is pleased to announce the introduction of our new Maritime Employers Liability (MEL) product. Focusing on low-to-medium hazard MEL exposures, the program uses a proprietary James River insuring agreement incorporating many of the typical endorsements and clarifying territorial and other terms. A 24/7 Rapid Claims Response Program is in place to provide immediate service to our clients, control claim costs and premiums over time.

James River introduces mining related classes in its Energy area. Target classes will include owners /operators of underground and surface mines, milling and processing facilities, blasting companies, mining equipment rental companies, and miscellaneous contractors.

James River introduces Owners and Contractors Protective Liability (OCP) through its Manufacturers & Contractors division. Minimum premium is $7500 for $1 million/$2 million limits.

James River completes calendar year 2004 with $133.4 million in gross written premium, its first full calendar year in operation. Full financials will be available by 4/1/2005 on www.james-river-group.com.

Healthcare Division expands non-standard physician's footprint into Arizona, Colorado, and Michigan. This is in addition to Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Georgia.

A.M. Best Co Financial Size Rating for James River Insurance Company increased to Size VII.

Submission Lookup on jamesriverins.com introduced. This allows brokers to see if an account has already been submitted to James River.

Environmental Division Opens for Business. The initial underwriting focus in the Environmental division is on Contractors Pollution Liability written on a stand-alone basis or in conjunction with a James River GL policy. General contractors, environmental contractors, site remediation and restoration contractors are all acceptable along with many other classes. Both claims-made and occurrence forms are available. Coverage for work being done in a remedial setting will be offered on a claims-made form.

The www.jamesriverins.com website with Secure Broker Area is introduced. Account loss runs and other materials are now available 24/7 directly through the site.

James River Healthcare Division Opens for Business targeting non-standard physicians in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

James River Insurance Company is now authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in Maine and Nevada effective 4/20/2004. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 48 plus DC.

James River Insurance Company is now authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in Michigan effective 3/18/2004. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 46 plus DC.

Manufacturers & Contractors division expands appetite for Residential Contractors: Remodelers and renovators may now be written on an occurrence form in most states, provided they do no new construction.

James River Insurance Company is now authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in Arkansas effective as of 2/19/2004. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 45 plus DC.

James River Insurance Company is now authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in Vermont effective as of 1/22/2004. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 44 plus DC.

James River Insurance Company is authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in New Jersey effective as of 12/23/2003. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 43 plus DC.

James River Energy Division Opens for Business. Target classes include Oil or Gas Lease Operators, Site Prep Contractors, Oil Well Servicing, Pipeline construction or services and a variety of other on-shore and off-shore contracting and consultancy risks.

James River Insurance Company is authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in Maryland effective 8/28/2003. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 42 plus DC.

James River Insurance Company is authorized to write on a surplus lines basis in South Carolina effective as of 8/26/03. This brings the number of states in which James River is open for business to 41 plus DC.

James River Insurance Company is officially open for business! Seven distinct underwriting departments, organized by line or coverage type make up the initial offering. Gestation takes eight months.

James River Group, Inc. completes purchase of Fidelity Excess & Surplus Insurance Company at 5:13 pm and binds first piece of business (effective 7/1/2003) at 5:35. Fidelity E & S is renamed James River Insurance Company.