Symetra Financial, Bellevue, Wash., has announced a definitiveagreement to acquire Medical Risk Managers, Inc. (MRM) of SouthWindsor, Conn. The deal is expected to close by the end of secondquarter 2007 and be accretive to earnings during the first twelvemonths. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Symetra provides employee benefits, retirement plans, annuitiesand life insurance, and is an industry leader in medical stop losscoverage designed for employers that self-insure their group healthplans. Stop loss helps employers protect self-funded health careplans against large potentially catastrophic claims, which reducestheir overall risk exposure.

MRM is a full-service managing general underwriter and healthcare network consulting firm specializing in the stop loss market.MRM will remain in South Windsor and manage staff and operationsindependently as a wholly owned subsidiary of Symetra FinancialCorporation. In addition, Mike McLean, chief executive officer ofMRM, will continue to lead the company, which will underwriteself-funded business for multiple partners in
addition to Symetra.

Symetra's acquisition of MRM will strengthen its diverse stoploss portfolio and increase penetration in the employee benefitsmarket.

"Bringing MRM on board further enhances Symetra's presence inthe medical stop loss insurance marketplace," said Randy Talbot,president and chief executive officer of Symetra. "Some 30 yearsago, our company was one of the pioneers of group stop losscoverage and Symetra remains at the forefront of this importantindustry today."

As a managing general underwriter, MRM has developed aninnovative strategy for designing stop loss plans based oncutting-edge network pricing, efficient claims management andcomprehensive risk analysis. MRM will compliment Symetra's abilityto customize group stop loss plans in conjunction with employers,benefits brokers and consultants, third-party administrators,administrative service organizations, health care networks, medicalproviders and other partners.

"We have worked hard to establish MRM as a leading source ofstop loss underwriting expertise, so it was important to find thekind of partner that would carry our company's legacy forward,"said McLean. "Symetra shares our vision for the future of the stoploss market, and we very much look forward to being a part of theirbusiness."

Scott Taylor, senior vice president of the group division atSymetra, said, "By taking a network-driven approach, MRM hasdeveloped a unique reputation as one of the most innovativearchitects of stop loss plans. This acquisition will strengthenSymetra's standing as a market leader."

For more information, visit Symetra Financial's website atwww.symetra.com. To learn moreabout MRM visit www.mrm-mgu.com.