Ohio Casualty™ Expands Reach in Virginia with New Branch Office

Richmond office to serve central and southern Virginia agents

Fairfield, Ohio  - May 7, 2008 – Ohio Casualty, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, today announced the opening of its new branch office in suburban Richmond to provide commercial lines and inland marine underwriting services for agents in central and southern Virginia.

Janet Buchanan will manage a staff of 11 at the branch office at 301 Concourse Boulevard in Glen Allen. This office will also provide more than 100 agencies with access to fidelity, surety, excess casualty, and unsupported umbrella products from Liberty Agency Underwriters™.

Ohio Casualty anticipates that the new branch office will expand to a regional office in the coming years as its market share increases in Virginia.

“We have a great agency plant in this state and an aggressive strategy for growing our books of business here,” said Joseph Lesko, regional vice president, Ohio Casualty. “With the opening of this office, we are reinforcing our commitment to our Virginia agents and our mutual growth and profitability.”

Ohio Casualty’s field presence in central and southern Virginia is supported by the following key personnel:

• Wilson Shepherd and Edward Willett – Territory Managers;
• Melisa Davis-Harris and Robert Short – Commercial Lines Field Specialists;
• Don Bogdanski – Personal Lines Field Specialist; and
• Mike Lonergan and Tom Lynch – Senior Loss Prevention Consultants.

Virginia-appointed agents also have access to new personal and commercial product lines via Personal IQ® and Commercial IQ®, Ohio Casualty’s web-based interface application for quoting and policy issuance. CUSTOM PROTECTOR™ is the centerpiece of Ohio Casualty’s new commercial lines portfolio. The Commercial Protector Series™ offers more built-in coverages and expanded eligibility to more than 1,100 small to mid-sized business classes.     

About Ohio Casualty
With underwriting companies dating back to 1851, Ohio Casualty offers property and casualty insurance products, including a comprehensive set of personal and commercial coverage, distributed primarily through appointed independent agents. Headquartered in Fairfield, OH, Ohio Casualty provides insurance in Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia.

Ohio Casualty is part of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets, a business unit of Liberty Mutual Group, consisting of property and casualty specialty insurance carriers that distribute their products and services primarily through independent agents and brokers. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 94 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations based on 2007 revenues. The company has financial strength ratings of A (Excellent) from the A.M. Best Company, A2 (Good) from Moody’s Investment Services, and A (Strong) from Standard and Poor’s.

Contact:

Christopher Goetcheus
774-279-5923
[email protected]