PR 091599

The National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc.
801 Warrenville Road, Suite 175, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4334 l Phone: (630) 725-0986 l Fax: (630) 725-1374

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National Catholic Announces Michael Bemi as President and CEO

September 15, 1999

Capping his 25 years in the insurance industry, Michael J. Bemi, CPCU, ARM, ARe, has left his position as division executive vice president with Arthur J. Gallagher & Company (AJG) to become president and chief executive officer of The National Catholic Risk Retention Group, Inc. (National Catholic). National Catholic is owned and managed by its 55 member shareholders, consisting of a risk pooling trust and 54 Roman Catholic archdioceses and dioceses across the United States.

The National Catholic Board of Directors unanimously elected Bemi at a meeting in July. He takes the torch from National Catholic’s William H. Hinkes, following the recent announcement of Hinkes’ impending retirement from his local Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey. Hinkes was unanimously elected vice chairman of the board and will continue to serve as a National Catholic board member through September 2001. Joining Bemi at National Catholic, as the executive responsible for underwriting, is long-time AJG associate, Sandra M. Barutha, who also brings a wealth of insurance and risk management experience.

"This marks a significant transition for our company," said Rev. Edward J. Arsenault, chairman of the National Catholic Board of Directors. "This is the next logical progression in our growth as a risk management organization that serves the Church." National Catholic’s membership is at an all-time high, with the announcement of eight new shareholders in a three-month period.

Hinkes, who has known Bemi for almost 20 years, said Bemi’s pedigree as an insurance professional and churchman is unchallenged. Bemi, who has devoted his career to non-profit and religious entities, became involved with National Catholic’s founding members in the mid 1980s through AJG’s National Bishops’ Program for Roman Catholic Entities. At AJG, Bemi assisted religious entities in surviving the hardships of the hard insurance market. He managed and remained significantly involved with the Bishops’ program, and for the past 15 years acted as an AJG advisor for Catholic, Mennonite, United Methodist, and Evangelical Lutheran entities.

Bemi’s additional responsibilities included the design, formation, implementation, and management of captive insurance companies and risk retention groups. Bemi has volunteered a great deal of his time to their growth and success. Illustrative of his ongoing commitment in this area, he is a charter member and current chairman-elect of the board of the National Risk Retention Association and, most recently, served National Catholic as executive vice president of marketing and regulatory affairs and as underwriting manager.

Bemi said he has many plans for leading National Catholic into the next millennium and for growing National Catholic’s membership and increasing services provided to member and sister entities. "The measure of a good insurance company is not simply the amassing of capital, but more importantly, how that capital is allocated," he said.

Bemi also said he plans to continue the implementation of the company’s strategic action plan, including the formation of a management company as a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Catholic—bringing more full-time, experienced industry leaders into key positions at the company. As a part of its long-term planning, National Catholic will relocate its headquarters to Lisle, Illinois in October 1999.

Before joining AJG, Bemi was a property and casualty underwriter in the Chicago office of Aetna Casualty and Surety. He holds three professional designations including CPCU (Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter), ARM (Associate in Risk Management), and ARe (Associate in Reinsurance). Bemi, a graduate of the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, is a native of Chicago and has been married for 20 years to wife, Jeanne. They have a 14-year-old daughter, Claire.