BRIDGETON, NJ: The Cumberland Insurance Group, in partnership with Cumberland County College, recently developed an educational program which links credit and noncredit courses and gives students another option for learning. The program integrates existing course offerings at Cumberland County College with continuing education courses offered by the Insurance Institute of America. The result is a win/win opportunity for both organizations.

The idea emerged out of discussions between Roy Richie, CPCU, Cumberland Insurance Group Senior Vice President of Underwriting; Debra Kuhl, EdD, the Chair of the Cumberland County College Business Department; and Vickie Simek, the Acting Director of the Professional and Community Education Division at Cumberland County College.

“We decided to explore what it would take to blend what Cumberland County College currently offers with what Cumberland Insurance and the Insurance Institute require,” Richie said. “We structured the program to make it attractive to our current workforce at Cumberland Insurance, as well as to business students at the College. This included offering on-line registration at Cumberland Insurance Group offices, and holding courses in our on-site training room. Instructors include Cumberland County College staff, qualified Cumberland Insurance Group instructors, and independent insurance instructors.”

“When we work together, we satisfy individual needs as well as collective needs. We are stronger for it,” Simek said. “After our initial meeting with The Cumberland Insurance Group, the decision to proceed was very easy to make. We have had a long-standing relationship with them in other areas. This program seemed like a natural extension.”

Through the partnership, a number of positive outcomes were achieved including:

• A program of study at the College combining existing Cumberland County College credit and noncredit courses with Insurance Institute of America courses.

•  Satisfied The Cumberland Insurance Group’s need for a continuous pool of skilled workers.

• Provided an opportunity for Cumberland Insurance Group employees to pursue higher education while working full time.

• Satisfied Cumberland County College’s need to expand student offerings and enhance their Business Management Program.

•  Enhanced the working relationship between The Cumberland Insurance Group and Cumberland County College.

“In order to ensure that our employees are knowledgeable and current on all industry trends, we support ongoing educational opportunities whenever possible,” said Leo T. Hogan, Cumberland Insurance Group Chairman and CEO. “We have supported Cumberland County College for many years through our college scholarship program, and are pleased to now pursue an even closer working relationship.”

“We believe this concept could also be expanded to incorporate other businesses in the County which have continuing educational requirements such as banking, real estate, and financial services,” said Robert P. Brady, Cumberland Insurance Group President. “It doesn’t cost much to run the program, it isn’t difficult to set up, and it produces tangible results. The end result is better educated and more productive employees, which gives companies the best opportunity for long-term growth and ensures customers receive the quality service they deserve.”

The Cumberland Insurance Group is rated A+ Superior by the A.M. Best Company, and currently serves over 134,000 policyholders in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. In 2006, the Company had Total Admitted Assets of $313,885,235 and a Policyholders’ Surplus of $140,421,618.

For more information about this press release, please contact Lee Tofanelli at 856-691-3113.

BRIDGETON, NEW JERSEY: The Cumberland Insurance Group has been recognized as a Super Regional Insurance Company by the prestigious industry magazine, Insurance Journal. The complete inaugural listing of 138 companies appears in the February 12 national edition of the magazine.

A number of property/casualty insurers call themselves “Super Regionals” as a way to differentiate their company in the marketplace. Until now, there has been no industry-wide, objective definition of a “Super Regional.” To open an industry discussion on the subject and to give definition to this important group of insurers, Insurance Journal called upon their official research partner, Demotech Inc., to conduct the necessary research and develop an objective list.

According to Demotech President Joseph Petrelli, “Insurance Journal came to us with the idea of establishing objective financial standards for stratifying property/casualty carriers. We saw this as an opportunity to bring definition to the ‘Super Regional’ term and to recognize these insurers for their achievements.”

In outlining the reasons for selecting Cumberland Insurance, Demotech found that “The Cumberland Insurance Group has successfully competed against national and international insurance companies and forged a significant and well-respected presence in the marketplace they serve.”

Criteria used by Demotech included the following:

• Active, individual companies not in regulatory supervision as of December 31, 2005.
• Companies reporting data to the NAIC using the property/casualty annual and quarterly
  statement format.
• Companies with more than $1 million of direct written premium in each of two to 34 states as of December 31, 2005.
• Companies with less than 90% of their direct written premium in any one state as of
  December 31, 2005.
• Companies with less than 90% of their direct written premium in any one line of business as of December 31, 2005.
• Companies with at least $100 million of surplus as of December 31, 2005 and September 30, 2006.
• Companies with net written premium of at least $50 million as of December 31, 2005.
• Companies with direct written premium of at least $25 million as of December 31, 2005 and greater than $0 at September 30, 2006.  “The ‘Super Regional’ list compiled by Demotech and the Insurance Journal is an impressive group of companies who we are proud to be associated with,” said Leo T. Hogan, Cumberland Insurance Group Chairman and CEO. “The management team, employees, and agents who represent Cumberland are to be commended for staying true to the Company’s core principles of providing quality products and quality customer service.”

“Understanding and responding to the needs of our customers has been the hallmark of The Cumberland Insurance Group’s long and distinguished history,” said Robert P. Brady, Cumberland Insurance Group President. “As we look forward to additional growth opportunities in the years to come, we will develop our employees and systems to outperform the competition in order to be recognized as the preferred ‘Super Regional’ carrier by the top independent agents.”

The Cumberland Insurance Group currently serves over 134,000 policyholders in the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, In 2006, the Company had Total Admitted Assets of $313,885,235 and a Policyholders’ Surplus of $140,421,618.

For more information about this press release, please contact Lee Tofanelli at 856-691-3113.