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The Hanover Insurance Group Expands Avenues Business Owner's Policy

July 18, 2006

- New Classes Allow Agents To Write More Business Across Small Commercial Market -

WORCESTER, Mass., July 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG), a leading super regional property and casualty company, announced today that it has added 81 new classes to the company's Avenues(TM) Business Owner's Policy, allowing agents to write more business across the small commercial market.

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Independent agents choose Avenues BOP for its consistent underwriting and pricing, flexible coverage, user-friendly technology and self-service tools, and responsive, local marketing and underwriting support. The enhanced Avenues BOP offers coverage for more than 360 BOP classes, matching competitors' 1,000-plus class codes by doing more with fewer, but more inclusive classes. In addition, The Hanover's broad BOP eligibility guidelines cover property values up to $15 million per location; annual sales up to $15 million per location; square footage up to 50,000 per location; and ordinance or law up to $2 million.

"For more than 150 years, The Hanover has provided valuable coverage for small commercial businesses," said David Firstenberg, president of The Hanover's commercial lines business. "Our new BOP classes, combined with our already broad eligibility guidelines, offer our agent partners more options and a broader risk appetite for their small commercial clients."

Avenues BOP is part of The Hanover's small commercial platform, which allows agents to easily quote and, in many instances, issue BOP, commercial auto, umbrella, and workers' compensation policies, and complete endorsements online.

To further meet the needs of the company's independent agent partners, The Hanover offers the local market support agents need, including experienced and knowledgeable underwriters who are available to assess larger risks and ensure suitable client coverage, and Small Commercial Sales Managers, who know the local markets and can write and bind small commercial accounts up to $25,000.

The enhanced Avenues BOP reinforces The Hanover's commitment to the small commercial marketplace. The advancement comes on the heels of The Hanover's introduction of a BOP class comparison look-up tool, designed to help agent partners quickly and efficiently categorize a small business owner's industry classification.

Additional information about the company's new BOP classes can be found on The Hanover's agent resource site, The Agency Place (TAP).

About The Hanover

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. (NYSE: THG), based in Worcester, Mass., is the holding company for a group of insurers that includes The Hanover Insurance Company, also based in Worcester; Citizens Insurance Company of America, headquartered in Howell, Mich., and their affiliates. The Hanover offers a wide range of property and casualty products and services to individuals, families and businesses through an extensive network of independent agents, and has been meeting its obligations to its agent partners and their customers for more than 150 years. Taken as a group, The Hanover ranks among the top 35 of more than 950 property and casualty insurers in the United States.

    CONTACTS:
    Investor Relations                  Media Relations
    Sujata Mutalik                      Amy Lynn Banek
    smutalik@hanover.comabanek@hanover.com
    +1-508-855-3457                     +1-508-855-4486

SOURCE The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.