Factory Mutual Affirmed

June 11, 2001

The “AA-” insurer FSR on Factory Mutual Insurance Company (FM Global) was affirmed by Fitch.

Also, Fitch assigned an “AA-” insurer FSR to FM Global’s Appalachian Insurance Company (Appalachian Insurance) and Affiliated FM Insurance Company (Affiliated FM) subsidiaries. The prognosis for all of the ratings is stable.

Rating factors include FM Global’s strong capitalization, strong competitive placement in the highly protected risk (HPR) market, and improving underwriting trends. Somewhat offsetting these positives is the competitive nature of the HPR market, along with the market’s underwriting volatility.