White Mountains Reports Adjusted Book Value (Excerpt)

HAMILTON, Bermuda – 02 August, 2010 -  White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (Ticker: WTM.BH) reported an adjusted book value per share of $406 at 30 June, 2010, a decrease of 1% for the quarter.

Ray Barrette, Chairman and CEO, commented, "We had an OK quarter. Adjusted book value per share declined 1%, mostly due to the impact of a strengthening dollar on WMRe Sirius that reduced our book value per share by $7. We remain enthusiastic about our large non-U.S. dollar investment in WMRe Sirius. Otherwise, we had small gains from investments and underwriting. OneBeacon had a 97% combined ratio and closed the sale of its Personal Lines business on July 1, significantly reducing our investment in a business with falling returns and large catastrophe exposures. White Mountains Re reported a 94% combined ratio, a bit elevated by $20 million of development on the Chile earthquake loss. Esurance had an improved quarter with a 101% adjusted combined ratio and 8% premium growth. At Symetra, we are excited about Tom Marra's appointment as CEO. During the quarter, we repurchased $82 million of our shares at 82% of adjusted book value per share. We continue to pursue many value enhancing opportunities, but with our shares trading at these prices, we believe buying shares back is the best use of our undeployed capital for now."

Adjusted comprehensive loss was $67 million in the second quarter and $118 million in the first six months of 2010, compared to adjusted comprehensive income of $236 million in the second quarter and $226 million in the first six months of last year. Net income for the second quarter was $3 million, compared to $180 million in the second quarter of last year, while net loss was $37 million in the first six months of 2010, compared to net income of $211 million in the first six months of last year.

White Mountainsis a Bermuda-domiciled financial services holding company traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange under the symbol WTM. Additional financial information and other items of interest are available at the company's website located at www.whitemountains.com. White Mountains expects to file its Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or before August 9, 2010 and urges shareholders to refer to that document for more complete information concerning its financial results.