Specialty Underwriters' Alliance Contracts With Partner Agent and Signs Letter of Intent With Additional Partner Agent for Gener

CHICAGO, Jan. 25  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:SUAI) today announced a new Partner Agent contract with American Patriot Insurance Agency, Inc. ("American Patriot"), which specializes in roofing contractors.  American Patriot provides commercial general liability and commercial auto liability both directly and through retail brokers.  It will focus initially on fourteen states in the central and southern regions.  American Patriot is located in Westchester, Illinois.

Courtney Smith, president and chief executive officer of SUA, stated, "American Patriot provides a great opportunity to market to the small to medium roofing industry.  They are owned by the same principals as ABC Supply Company, the largest roofing materials supplier in the country.  By partnering with American Patriot, we can capitalize on its pre-existing relationships within the roofing industry.  There are approximately 30,000 roofers nationwide.  We anticipate American Patriot will begin writing business in the first half of 2006 and are excited about our partnership."  In conjunction with the partner agent contract, American Patriot has agreed to purchase $1 million of SUA's Series B common stock.

In addition, SUA has signed a letter of intent with a potential agent specializing in artisan contractors in the western region.  This Partner Agent will offer general liability and commercial auto.  A prior letter of intent signed with a potential agent offering similar lines of business will not be pursued to final contract.

Smith stated, "We continue to find opportunities with Partner Agents that fit within our business model.  At the same time, we will be diligent in our selection process and not move forward with Partner Agents that do not fit our underwriting guidelines.  As a result, we have ended discussions with a potential agent who previously signed a letter of intent."

About Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc.

Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc., through its subsidiary SUA Insurance Company, is a specialty property and casualty insurance company that provides commercial insurance products through exclusive wholesale partner agents that serve niche groups of insureds.   These targeted customers require highly specialized knowledge due to their unique risk characteristics. Examples include tow trucks, building contractors, professional employee organizations and public entities.  SUA's innovative approach provides products and claims handling, allowing the partner agent to focus on distribution and customer relationships.

Safe Harbor Statement

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for forward-looking statements.  This release or any other written or oral statements made by or on behalf of the company may include forward- looking statements that reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and financial performance.  All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward- looking terminology such as "may," "will," "plan," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe" or "continue" or their negative or variations or similar terminology.  All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risks and uncertainties.  Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements.  We believe that these factors include but are not limited to ineffectiveness or obsolescence of our business strategy due to changes in current or future market conditions; increased competition on the basis of pricing, capacity, coverage terms or other factors; greater frequency or severity of claims and loss activity, including as a result of natural or man-made catastrophic events, than our underwriting, reserving or investment practices anticipate based on historical experience or industry data; the effects of acts of terrorism or war; developments in the world's financial and capital markets that adversely affect the performance of our investments; changes in regulations or laws applicable to us, our subsidiaries, brokers or customers; acceptance of our products and services, including new products and services; changes in the availability, cost or quality of reinsurance and failure of our reinsurers to pay claims timely or at all; decreased demand for our insurance or reinsurance products; loss of the services of any of our executive officers or other key personnel; the effects of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; changes in rating agency policies or practices; changes in legal theories of liability under our insurance policies; changes in accounting policies or practices; and changes in general economic conditions, including inflation and other factors. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

To learn more about Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, please visit http://www.suainsurance.com/ . 

First Call Analyst: 

FCMN Contact: 

DATASOURCE: Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc.



CONTACT:  Leslie Loyet of Financial Relations Board, [phone]; or

Scott Goodreau of Specialty Underwriters' Alliance, Inc., [phone]



Web site: http://www.suainsurance.com/ 

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