WESTFIELD CENTER, OH - May 9, 2006 - Representatives from Westfield Insurance partnered with Wadsworth High School Business Management teacher Beth Lance to help teach her students about insurance, developing the next generation of knowledgeable insurance consumers and sharing insurance career possibilities.

Lance explored insurance topics one week each month throughout the school year using the InVEST (Insurance Vocational Education Student Training) classroom plans. Founded in 1970, InVEST promotes insurance education in order to educate students as consumers and about careers in the insurance industry. (Learn more at www.InVESTprogram.org)

Westfield is actively involved in InVEST through employee volunteers, who teach insurance fundamentals in area schools. In addition, the Company's P&C Marketing Senior Executive Kent Daugherty represents Westfield on the InVEST board and works with the Ohio Insurance Information Institute to encourage independent agents to begin InVEST programs in their local high schools and community colleges.

Lance invited Westfield's agency training team, Pat Farber, Susan Duncan, Luann Hamric and Kristine Kash, to quiz her 135 students' understanding of the fundamentals of insurance with the aid of game software based on the quiz show Jeopardy. "This is a fun way for students to test their knowledge. They enjoy competing for the rewards InVEST volunteers bring into each class," Lance said.

"Working with Beth Lance is a win-win," said Westfield's Agency Operations Director Brady Polansky. "The insurance community comes together to help Beth's students better understand sometimes complicated insurance concepts. Plus, we see this classroom as a model for other insurance industry groups and schools that are interested in starting their own programs."

To get a better feel of what it would be like to own an insurance agency, students " in teams of five -- formed their own agencies. Each agency created its own name, brochure and auto applications to provide premium quotes. Students helped their "customers" make informed insurance choices, then produced premium calculations on the software, provided to the classroom. Mrs. Lance required five examples/ "sales" from each student, but awarded fast-food gift certificates to agency teams that sold over-and-above the requirement. The winning team "sold" 56 policies.

Westfield Chief Legislative Officer Dan Sondles, also a Wadsworth High School graduate, added, "This program de-mystifies the concept of insurance to these new drivers. It helps them make better consumer choices, plus it shows the 350 career options inside the insurance industry, which over 100,000 Ohioans have chosen."

Among the insurance industry partners also working with Lance are the following area insurance agencies: Seibert Keck, Rexroad Insurance, Allen and Hartzel and Padgett Young. State Auto Insurance Company, long-time InVEST sponsors, provided the awards food certificates and classroom presenters - Claims Manager Jack Halada and Regional Vice President Don Spickler.

For more information on this program, contact Westfield's Brady Polansky, director of agency operations. Brady oversees the program, which is also offered in Cliff Reeves' Marketing Education classroom in Cloverleaf High School.

In business for more than 158 years, Westfield Insurance provides commercial and personal insurance and surety services to customers in 28 states. Westfield markets its products through more than 1,200 leading independent insurance agencies and is one of the country's largest property and casualty insurers. Westfield Group provides banking through Westfield BankSM and agency support through Westfield Services, Inc. Westfield has over $3.1 billion in assets and holds an "A (Excellent)" rating from A.M. Best, a leading insurance financial rating agency. The Company has more than 2,500 employees, with 1,900 employed in Ohio.

# # #