CATEX Delivers 'smartfac' to CNA Re - Internet Submission and Tracking Capabilities Offered

New York: 5 December 2000 - CATEX, the world's largest Internet-based reinsurance and commercial insurance marketplace announced today the delivery of a new Web-enabled facultative submission system to CNA Re, one of its subscribers. The system, called smartfac, facilitates property and casualty facultative submissions via the Internet and allows underwriters to forward property and inland marine, auto liability, general liability and umbrella liability submissions to CNA Re underwriters. The new system also permits users to submit, bind, endorse and review facultative activities online with the reinsurer.

"We are very pleased to deliver this system to CNA Re," said Frank Fortunato, CEO of CATEX. "The CATEX e-team of software developers worked closely with CNA Re underwriters and meticulously built this system from the ground up to meet all of their needs."

"We worked with them to integrate the system directly into their internal systems via XML," said Robert C. Graebner, Senior Vice President, CATEX Technologies, "and that process can be extended as they require."

CATEX maintains a global market of over 220 subscribers in over 35 countries who access a 24 hours x 7 days Internet-based trading system on which reinsurance, commercial insurance and other products are posted for cession and assumption. CATEX, using its reinsurance exchange knowledge, develops and hosts Internet trading systems for subscribers upon request.

CATEX maintains offices in New York, London, Bermuda and Princeton, NJ. The company is licensed by the New York Insurance Department as a reinsurance intermediary that acts in a neutral capacity.