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Commercial Property Values Just a Click Away

March 21, 2007

WARREN, NJ, March 21, 2007 - Commercial building owners often underinsure their
properties because they base insurance limits on market values or they do not account for
rising labor costs or the cost to replace critical equipment.

In response, the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies is offering agents and brokers an
online application that will make it easier to determine insurance limits for commercial
properties. The application, Building Valuation System (BVS), is available through @chubb,
Chubb's secure Internet site for agents and brokers.

Developed by MSB (Marshall & Swift / Boeckh), a leading supplier of building cost data and
valuation tools, BVS offers an objective and consistent approach to establishing building
values for existing and prospective insureds. It provides construction costs, which are updated
quarterly, and accounts for regional deviations in pricing. It can also account for the cost of
complying with building codes. The system includes typical defaults for buildings of different
sizes, which can reduce the data input required, saving agents and brokers time.

"Accurate building valuation is fundamental to developing a property insurance program that
includes limits of insurance reflective of the insured's true exposure-the costs to repair or
replace lost or damaged covered property," said Bill Puleo, vice president of Chubb & Son and
worldwide monoline property manager for Chubb Commercial Insurance. "This online tool
makes it easier for agents and brokers to help their commercial clients make sure they have
adequate protection for property losses."

Building owners often underestimate the cost of replacing their property and equipment. In
some cases, they have purchased insurance based on a building's market value, when the
rebuilding cost may be substantially higher. Owners also may not have factored in escalations
in the cost of construction materials and labor, especially following a catastrophe such as a
hurricane. In addition, few consider demolition costs. The gap may grow even larger if the
higher cost of complying with current building codes was not considered. In recent years, a
global construction boom, natural disasters and oil prices have sharply pushed up the cost of
raw materials. For example, the cost of copper pipe has more than doubled in 2006, and
structural steel prices are up 14 percent, according to MSB.

The member insurers of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies form a multi-billion dollar
organization providing property and casualty insurance for personal and commercial
customers worldwide through 8,500 independent agents and brokers. Chubb's global network
includes branches and affiliates in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.
Additional information on Chubb can be found at www.chubb.com.