|| Hylant Group - Insurance, Risk Management, Consulting ||

Hylant Group Appoints New Vice President to Grand Rapids Office

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan - February 15, 2007 - Hylant Group, the nation’s sixth largest privately held commercial insurance brokerage, has hired Kathy Bailey to serve as vice president and claims consultant for its rapidly growing Grand Rapids office. In this capacity, Bailey will provide post-loss workers’ compensation consulting.

Specializing in workers’ compensation cost containment, Bailey has been successful in helping clients identify and reduce medical indemnity and litigation costs associated with workers’ compensation.

"Kathy is a proven professional whose expertise will enhance the workers’ compensation services offered by Hylant. Our clients will undoubtedly benefit from her broad experience with risk assessments and post-claims consultancy,” said Len Dyer, President, Hylant Group Grand Rapids. “Attracting and retaining skilled industry professionals is a top priority for Hylant and will continue to be as our organization grows and our clients’ needs evolve."

Prior to joining Hylant, Bailey served as claims consultant for the former Johnson and Higgins brokerage. She was also a workers' compensation consultant for Varnum, Riddering, Schmidt & Howlett LLP—a major law firm based in western Michigan. Bailey has worked with midsize to Fortune 100 clients, including multi-location and multi-state companies, and has experience working with manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and temporary employment firms.

Because of her extensive industry knowledge, she has been a featured speaker on the topic of workers' compensation management for local and regional conferences, including Michigan Safety Conference and Exposition, Chamber of Commerce, The Council on Education and Management and various other trade associations. She attended Davenport College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Founded in 1935, the Hylant Group is a full-service business insurance brokerage with 11 offices in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee. Headquartered in Toledo, Ohio, Hylant was ranked by the Hales Report as the sixth largest privately held brokerage in the United States in 2006.

With more than 635 professionals, the firm is positioned to serve a wide variety of clients locally, nationally and internationally. A member of the Worldwide Broker Network, Hylant offers complete risk management services, employee benefits consultation, loss control, 401(k) and financial services, healthcare management and insurance for businesses and individuals.