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Clarification of misinterpretations

Hannover, 20 June 2003:

  • Mr. Zeller did not declare the end of the hard market
  • Hannover Re has not been downgraded

Wilhelm Zeller, the Chairman of our Executive Board, gave a speech on the occasion of the Goldman Sachs European Financials Conference 2003 in Rome on 18 June which obviously has been widely misinterpreted. Please find enclosed a summary of what Mr. Zeller actually said.

In addition, we would like to comment on yesterday's Standard & Poor's rating action on our London subsidiary, International Insurance Co. of Hannover Ltd. (Inter Hannover), lowering of the long-term counterparty credit and insurer financial strength ratings to 'A+' from 'AA-'. The downgrade reflects the changed position of Inter Hannover within the Hannover Re Group. Inter Hannover today is the Group's dedicated program writer in Europe; thus Inter Hannover obtained by Standard & Poor's the same rating as Clarendon, our US program business writing unit.

The rating of the Hannover Re Group remains unchanged. A.M. Best ('A+ under review') as well as Standard & Poor's ('AA- negative outlook') continue to award us their second-highest ratings. Standard & Poor's stated in its press release that Hannover Re's management commitment to strengthen the balance sheet has been demonstrated through last week's capital raising.