Matson, Norris, Hall and Hayes Join Wholesale Trading Co-Op

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/09/10 -- Wholesale Trading Co-Op LLC ("WTC") announces the addition of insurance industry veterans Erik Matson, Bruce Norris, Kenyon Hall and Joe Hayes to WTC's wholesale professional and leadership group.

Matson, Norris, Hall and Hayes are the latest members of the WTC founding team who will closely collaborate with retail broker members and key specialty insurance markets to roll out the WTC model across the country.

WTC works with retail insurance broker members to develop a comprehensive placement strategy to better serve clients; increase transparency between retail brokers and specialty insurance markets; reduce frictional costs; and develop exclusive programs and binding authority facilities for its owner members. Offices will initially be located in San Francisco, New York and Atlanta.

Erik Matson joins WTC as a Managing Partner, bringing more than 25 years of diversified insurance underwriting, reinsurance, specialty program development, operations and financial services consulting experience to WTC. Matson is based in New Jersey and serves as the East Coast director working with WTC Managing Partner Les Ross, based in San Francisco, CA. Prior to joining WTC, Matson was an executive with the world's largest reinsurance company, responsible for developing specialty insurance programs and Managing General Agency (MGA) partnerships with insurance and reinsurance companies and related alternative risk entities operating within the US and European markets.

Bruce Norris joins WTC as a partner from retail insurance broker EPIC where he was a principal in the firm's Risk Management Division, specializing in the identification, analysis and management of complex property risk. Norris has 16 years of experience in catastrophe analysis and risk modeling technology, focusing on large property exposures, creative program design and complex property insurance placements. Norris is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

Kenyon Hall joins WTC as a partner in Atlanta, where he has lived and worked throughout his career. Hall also joins from EPIC, where he was a principal specializing in the design, placement and management of complex property insurance programs for companies facing catastrophic exposures. Hall has broad industry experience throughout the real estate, retail, manufacturing and construction sectors.

Joe Hayes also joins WTC as a partner and is based in the firm's New York office. Hayes comes to WTC from Crump - Tri City Brokerage of New York, where he most recently served as Vice President and Broker, specializing in the design and placement of complex casualty and professional liability insurance programs. Prior to joining Crump - Tri City, Hayes held positions as a Casualty Facultative Underwriter with General Reinsurance and as a Business Analyst with IBM.

Erik Matson can be reached at:

Wholesale Trading Co-Op
1200 Route 22 East
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
908-500-6485 (cell)
[email protected]

Bruce Norris can be reached at:

Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC
123 Mission Street, 26th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
650-295-4609
[email protected]

Kenyon Hall can be reached at:

Wholesale Trading Co-Op
3455 Peachtree Road N.E., 5th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30326
404-375-5299
[email protected]

Joe Hayes can be reached at:

Wholesale Trading Co-Op
P.O. Box 1280
New York, NY 10159
203-470-6338
[email protected]

About Wholesale Trading Co-Op
Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services LLC ("WTC") is a boutique wholesale brokerage firm that serves approximately 30 of the largest privately-held retail insurance brokers in the US. The firm is owned jointly by its retail insurance broker members, WTC executives, its sponsors and select financial partners, including Islington Holdings LP. WTC will begin placing business by the end of 2010 with 5-7 founding retail insurance broker members. WTC is licensed in all 50 states.

Contact: Erik Matson [email protected] 908-500-6485  Courtenay Dulak [email protected] 949-209-8871