Fortegra Completes Acquisition of Bliss & Glennon From Willis HRH

JACKSONVILLE, FL--(Marketwire - April 16, 2009) - Fortegra Financial Corporation, a leading insurance services company specializing in affinity marketing, payment protection, mass marketing and administration, today announced that it completed the acquisition of Bliss & Glennon, Inc., from Willis HRH, Inc. Fortegra Financial is a portfolio company of Summit Partners, a global growth equity investor. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Bliss & Glennon is engaged in the business of transaction-based wholesale insurance brokerage and is a surplus lines general insurance agency with binding authority. The completion of this transaction positions Fortegra Financial to continue expanding its insurance distribution and service business to include wholesale brokerage.

Fortegra's President and CEO Richard S. Kahlbaugh observed, "Since recapitalizing our company with Summit Partners, we have continued to assess the strength of our platform and looked for strategic opportunities to complement the very unique nature of our product delivery systems. We are thrilled to be joining forces with the outstanding team at Bliss & Glennon. This acquisition accelerates our effort to expand our distribution platform and capabilities. In the future, we will continue to focus on our distribution and administration business, and look to expand our presence by entering new geographic markets and product segments."

"We have been very pleased with Fortegra's strong growth since the time of our original investment in 2007," said J.J. Kardwell, a Principal with Summit Partners, who is also a member of Fortegra's Board of Directors. "We welcome this opportunity to help finance Fortegra's continued expansion, and we will continue working with the Fortegra management team to identify similarly compelling acquisition opportunities."

"Bliss & Glennon is a perfect fit with Fortegra and we look forward to working with them as a third-party wholesale insurance broker," said Joe Plumeri, Chairman and CEO, Willis Group Holdings. "We decided to look for a new home for Bliss & Glennon because it did not fit with our long-term strategy to focus our attention and resources on our retail brokerage business in the U.S."

Piper Jaffray acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fortegra Financial and Summit Partners. StoneRidge Advisors and Willis Capital Markets and Advisory Services acted as financial advisors to Willis HRH.

About Fortegra

Fortegra Financial offers a full range of insurance services including product development, product distribution, mass marketing, captive management and administration and third party policy and claims administration. The Company's broad and varied customer base includes the nation's most recognized banks, financial institutions and retailers as well as a large variety of regional and local financial and insurance concerns. Additional information about Fortegra can be found at www.fortegra.com

About Summit Partners

Summit Partners provides private equity and venture capital for growth companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided growth equity, recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 300 growing companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed nearly 125 public offerings and more than 110 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto, and London. Summit Partners seeks outstanding management teams that have self-financed their companies to profitability and market leadership.

Notable financial services companies financed by Summit Partners include SeaBright Insurance Holdings, Liquidnet Holdings, optionsXpress Holdings, The Galtney Group, Global Cash Access, and Focus Financial Partners. Visit Summit Partners at www.summitpartners.com.

About Willis HRH

Willis HRH is the North American retail brokerage business of Willis Group Holdings. The unit has more than 200 local offices across the United States and Canada, offering a full range of insurance and risk management services, specialist expertise and global resources to large corporate, middle-market and small business clients.

Willis Group Holdings Limited (NYSE: WSH) is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 20,000 Associates serving clients in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

Contact Information: Contacts: Summit Partners Joan Miller (617) 824-1047 Brunswick Group Erin Becker / Dominic McMullan (415) 293-8461 / (212) 333-3810