Zurich Financial Services proposes new Chairman of the Board of Directors

Zurich, December 15, 2004 – Zurich Financial Services (Zurich) announced today that the Board of Directors will propose to the 2005 Annual General Meeting of shareholders on April 19 the election of Manfred Gentz (62) to the Board of Directors. Upon election, the Board intends to elect him as Chairman, succeeding Lodewijk van Wachem who will retire on the day of the Annual General Meeting after having served the Group for 12 years.

Manfred Gentz studied law at the universities of Berlin and Lausanne and he graduated with a doctorate in law from the Berlin Free University. In 1970, he joined Daimler-Benz AG where he assumed various positions. In 1983, he was appointed member of the Board of Management of Daimler-Benz, responsible for Human Resources at first. From 1990 to 1995 he was also Chief Executive Officer of Daimler-Benz Interservices (debis) in Berlin and he subsequently became Chief Financial Officer of Daimler-Benz in 1995. In December 1998, Gentz was appointed to the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler where he is in charge of Finance and Controlling. He will retire from this function in December of the current year.

Manfred Gentz has been associated with the activities of the Zurich Group since 1996 when he joined the Board of Supervisors of Zürich Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft (Deutschland), Zurich’s German subholding company. From 1987 to 1995 he served on the Board of Supervisors of Agrippina Versicherung AG. In 1985 he was elected to the Board of Supervisors of Hannoversche Lebensversicherung AG, which appointed him proxy Chairman in 1990. He will relinquish this position prior to the election to the Board of Directors of Zurich Financial Services and he will also retire from the Board of Zürich Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft (Deutschland).

Manfred Gentz is active in a number of supervisory and advisory boards as well as scientific and cultural institutions. In addition to serving in the Supervisory Board of the German Stock Exchange, he is Chairman of the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) Germany, Chairman of the Aspen Institute Berlin, and Chairman of the Hanns Martin Schleyer Foundation.