Selective Ins. Group Announces Impact of Severe Winter Storms

Selective Insurance Group Inc. announced that the severe weather that blanketed the East Coast in January and February will have a negative impact on first quarter results. On an after-tax basis, the increase in both weather-related catastrophe and other large property losses over the first quarter 2002 will reduce earnings by approximately $8.7 million, or $0.32 per share. Catastrophe losses accounted for almost 80 percent of the increased losses.

Selective Chairman, President and CEO Gregory E. Murphy stated: “The severe East Coast winter we just experienced — one of the worst in decades — provided us the opportunity to demonstrate the value of our service-intensive approach to agents and customers. Weather-related events will always be a factor in our industry’s performance. That said, progress on pricing, retention and other strategic initiatives continue to favorably affect Selective’s outlook. Notwithstanding this specific event, we continue to expect solid growth in 2003, building off our strong 2002 performance.”

The Company will announce first quarter earnings on May 7, 2003.