WHITE PLAINS, NY - September 22, 1999

When it comes to affordable car insurance coverage, many safe motorists in Florida have very little to show for the care and responsibility they exercise behind the wheel.

While there are surely more expensive places in which to insure a car, Florida still ranks in the top third nationwide - 16th among the 50 states for the average expenditure for car insurance premiums, $759, according to 1997 statistics from the Insurance Information Institute.

Response Insurance is prepared to do something about that. Response is now offering affordable car insurance coverage directly by phone to good drivers in Florida - without insurance agents who charge commissions.

How much difference can Response Insurance make to South Floridians? A 45-year-old Hialeah couple with good driving records would pay Allstate $1,662 annually to insure a 1997 Ford Taurus LX; they'd pay State Farm $1,496; and they'd pay Response Insurance $1,040* - and save as much as 38%.

Many auto insurance companies lump good drivers in with bad drivers, whose accidents drive up the auto insurance rates of people who in some cases have never even been involved in a fender-bender.

"Right now, good drivers with other auto insurance companies aren't really being rewarded for their good driving. They're subsidizing somebody else," says Mory Katz, president of Response Insurance. "Response Insurance offers affordable car insurance for responsible people."

Because Response Insurance focuses on those with clean driving records, and since it sells directly to the public - there are no middlemen charging fees for the writing of the policies - auto insurance rates can be substantially lower.

Response Insurance has more than just a great concept. It has rock-solid financial backing. The firm recently received $92 million in completion of its original equity financing commitment of $215 million. It also received a commitment for an additional $100 million of equity financing to be completed at year- end. The total financing package of $315 million was arranged by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter (MSDW) Capital Partners. The funds will be used to continue to expand the fast- growing auto insurance writings of the company's subsidiaries, now operating in New York state, California and Illinois, as well as Florida.

The investment group arranged by MSDW Capital Partners includes Morgan Stanley Capital Partners III, L.P., The Plymouth Rock Company, and other institutional investors. MSDW Capital Partners is the private equity unit of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., the global financial services firm.

Employing the logo of a little red telephone on wheels, as a visual reminder of accessible customer service and responsible driving, insurance entrepreneurs James Stone and Peter Wood launched Response Insurance in 1996, convinced that the market for direct auto insurance in the United States - already being tapped by companies such as GEICO and USAA - was ready for growth.

Figures cited in the Feb. 23, 1998, issue of Forbes magazine confirmed their conviction.

A study by Conning & Co., cited by Forbes, projects that direct sellers' share of the auto insurance market will climb to 17.2 percent in the year 2000 - up from 12.8 percent a year ago.

Mr. Stone is the founder of The Plymouth Rock Company, which operates several regional insurance carriers in New England. Mr. Wood is the founder of Direct Line Insurance, the first direct response carrier in the U.K. and now the country's largest auto carrier. Response Insurance is headquartered in White Plains, N.Y., and also has offices in Suisun City, Calif. To find out more, call 1-800-610-5928, or visit www.Response.com.

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