National General Holdings Corp. Announces Agreement to Acquire Standard Mutual Insurance Company

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2016 -- National General Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq:NGHC) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement, pending regulatory and policyholder approval, to acquire Standard Mutual Insurance Company (SMIC), an Illinois based property and casualty underwriter, following the completion of the conversion of SMIC to a stock company from a mutual company. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

National General Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Michael Karfunkel stated: "We are excited about the addition of Standard Mutual to our growing personal lines franchise. The SMIC acquisition provides us entry into the states of Illinois and Indiana for both the homeowners and package products, and adds to our expansion efforts of standard and preferred personal lines products. We believe this combination will enhance both companies, and we expect to realize substantial benefits from transitioning Standard Mutual to our state-of-the-art technology system, our comprehensive reinsurance structure, and our shared services platform. This transaction is National General’s first demutualization, but we see this area as offering substantial opportunities to profitably grow our business in the future.  We look forward to working with the Standard Mutual Insurance Company team and providing them with the broad resources and capabilities that National General has to offer. We expect the transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings”.

About Standard Mutual Insurance Company (SMIC)

Based in Springfield, Illinois, Standard Mutual Insurance Company began operations in 1921 and has a financial strength rating of “B+” (good) from A.M. Best.   The company predominantly underwrites private passenger automobile and homeowners lines in Illinois and Indiana.  SMIC wrote approximately $49 million of direct written premium in 2014, and approximately $37 million through the first nine months of 2015. The company distributes products through approximately 250 independent agents. SMIC policyholders’ surplus as of September 30, 2015 was approximately $22 million. 

About National General Holdings Corp.

National General Holdings Corp., headquartered in New York City, is a specialty personal lines insurance holding company. National General traces its roots to 1939, has a financial strength rating of A- (excellent) from A.M. Best, and provides personal and commercial automobile, homeowners, umbrella, recreational vehicle, motorcycle, supplemental health, and other niche insurance products.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate" and "believe" or their variations or similar terminology. There can be no assurance that actual developments will be those anticipated by the Company. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements as a result of significant risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, non-receipt of expected payments from insureds or reinsurers, changes in interest rates, a downgrade in the financial strength ratings of our insurance subsidiaries, the effect of the performance of financial markets on our investment portfolio, estimates of the fair value of life settlement contracts, development of claims and the effect on loss reserves, accuracy in projecting loss reserves, the cost and availability of reinsurance coverage, the effects of emerging claim and coverage issues, changes in the demand for our products, our degree of success in integrating acquired businesses, the effect of general economic conditions, state and federal legislation, regulations and regulatory investigations into industry practices, risks associated with conducting business outside the United States, developments relating to existing agreements, disruptions to our business relationships, breaches in data security or other disruptions involving our technology, heightened competition, changes in pricing environments, and changes in asset valuations. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement except as may be required by law. Additional information about these risks and uncertainties, as well as others that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Contact
Dean Evans
Director of Investor Relations
Phone: 212-380-9462
Email: [email protected]