Proposals for the composition of the Board of Directors of Zurich Financial Services

Zurich, March 10, 2004 - The Board of Directors of Zurich Financial Services proposes to its shareholders the re-election of Messrs Lodewijk van Wachem for a one-year term, Philippe Pidoux for a two-year term, and Armin Meyer and Rolf Watter for three-year terms respectively. The re-election of Mr van Wachem at the Annual General Meeting on April 16, 2004 will enable the Board to entrust him with the Chairmanship for another year.

The Board of Directors is pleased to also propose to shareholders the election of a new member, Mr Thomas Escher, for a term of two years. After a long career with IBM, Thomas Escher joined UBS in 1996. He is currently a member of the Group Managing Board and head of information technology (IT) in the wealth management and business banking division of UBS. Mr Escher's extensive experience in the area of IT in a financial services environment is considered to be of great importance for the future development of the Group (see attached Curriculum Vitae).

Mr Markus Granziol has informed the Board of his intention to resign with effect as of the Annual General Meeting. In accepting his resignation, the Board of Directors expresses its high appreciation for his valuable contribution and wishes him all the best as he pursues his other activities.

Curriculum Vitae

Thomas Konrad Escher (55) graduated in electrical engineering and in business administration from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) and joined IBM Corporation in 1974 as a marketing representative in New York. In 1985, he became a director of IBM Europe S.A, in Paris. In 1990, he took over as general manager of IBM Distribution and Support S.A. in Paris and Rome. In 1992, he became director of management consulting and chief information officer of IBM Switzerland and in 1995, general manager of IBM International Center for Asset Management in Zug. From 1996 until 1998, he was member of the executive management of Swiss Bank Corporation responsible for several regions in Switzerland and for information technology. In 1998, after the merger of Swiss Bank Corporation and Union Bank of Switzerland, he became head of IT in the division private clients and business banking of UBS AG as a member of the Group Managing Board. Since July 1, 2002 he heads IT in the wealth management and business banking division. Mr Escher is chairman of the Zurich Economic Society. He serves as a member of the board of several UBS companies and of the executive committee of the Institute of Information Management of the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. Mr Escher has also been nominated to join the Board of Directors of Zurich Insurance Company.