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EQECAT Estimates Cumulative Insured Losses From Hurricane Dean In Mexico Should Be Less Than $250 Million

August 22, 2007

Oakland, California

EQECAT, Inc., the leading authority on extreme-risk modeling, Wednesday afternoon (Eastern Time) said, based on current storm data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), cumulative insured losses from Hurricane Dean in two landfalls in Mexico will not likely exceed $250 million.

Overall, Hurricane Dean insured losses will likely be approximately $2 billion, based on the final storm track. Earlier estimates were based on more adverse storm paths and intensities forecast by the weather services. While Jamaica was significantly impacted, the storm missed Martinique, St. Lucia, the Caymans, densely populated centers on the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico oil production areas. The majority of the loss occurred in Jamaica, which sustained significant property damage. Jamaica will also incur additional economic damage going forward due to loss of tourism while property and infrastructure damage is repaired. Hurricane Dean’s intensity was the third most severe recorded in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin.

EQECAT’s insured loss estimates include business interruption, as a result of the destruction of property; and demand surge, which occurs when the demand for products and services to repair damage significantly exceeds the regional supply. Thus, these products and services may have to be brought to the region quickly from distant points, resulting in additional costs for transportation, packaging and manufacture.

Excluded from EQECAT’s insured loss estimates are losses related to flooding, private and commercial automobiles and similar vehicles, and marine assets, such as boats.

EQECAT Representatives Available For Commentary

Representatives of EQECAT, headquartered in Oakland, will be available to provide commentary about Hurricane Dean. For additional information, please contact Eric Samansky, The Samansky Group, at 516-319-0858.

EQECAT Serves Global Clients Through Extensive WORLDCATenterprise™

Through its extreme-risk modeling software platform, WORLDCATenterprise™, EQECAT enables clients to assess and manage potential damage and loss from wind, earthquakes, flood, wildfire, and terrorism, among other perils. WORLDCATenterprise™ includes 177 natural hazard software models for 89 countries spanning six continents.

EQECAT and its parent, ABSG Consulting Inc. (“ABS Consulting”), serve the global property and casualty insurance industry, major multinational corporations and financial institutions. EQECAT is known as the technical leader and innovator in the development of analysis tools and services that enable insurers’ and major corporations’ to better manage exposure to natural and man-made catastrophe risk.

EQECAT was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Oakland, California. For additional information, please log on to www.absconsulting.com and www.EQECAT.com.