Hudson’s Bay Company and Crawford form a claims management partnership

KITCHENER, 07 November, 2003 – Crawford Adjusters Canada announced today the formation of a partnership with Hudson’s Bay Company (Hbc) to become their Third Party Administrator, providing Claims Management Services to Hbc’s Risk Management Department. These services include the handling of claims and incidents involving Hbc’s property and customers at over 550 locations across Canada.

“Hbc’s Risk Management Department wanted to partner with an organization it could trust to provide top quality service to our customers,” said Joe Hardy, Hbc’s Director of Risk Management and Insurance. “The team at Crawford demonstrated an understanding of Hbc’s values, and developed a customer-oriented program that responded to them. With Crawford as part of our team, we are able to serve our customers by responding to claims and incidents quickly and professionally.”

“Hbc is a world class organization, with a strong focus on customer satisfaction. We are pleased to have been appointed as their claims management partner,” said Glenn Gibson, chief executive officer of Crawford Adjusters Canada. “We are looking forward to building a long-term relationship with Hbc and exploring future opportunities with them.”

Among those opportunities is the potential to strengthen Hbc’s position in the insurance replacement business. Each year, insurance companies in Canada spend hundreds of millions of dollars replacing insured property that has been lost or damaged. Crawford will work with Hbc to develop a strategy that will incorporate their stores into the network of vendors insurance companies use to replace that property. With 90% of Canadians living less than 20 minutes from an Hbc store, they are ideally suited to serve this marketplace.

Hudson’s Bay Company, established in 1670, is Canada’s largest department store retailer and oldest corporation. The Company provides Canadians with the widest selection of goods and services available through numerous retail chains, including more than 500 stores led by the Bay, Zellers and Home Outfitters chains. Hudson’s Bay Company is one of Canada’s largest employers with 70,000 associates and operations in every province.

Crawford Adjusters Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of Crawford & Company. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Crawford & Company (www.crawfordandcompany.com) is the world’s largest independent provider of claims management solutions to insurance companies and self-insured entities, with a global network of more than 700 offices in 67 countries. Major service lines include workers’ compensation claims administration and healthcare management services, property and casualty claims management, class action services and risk management information services. The Company’s shares are traded on the NYSE under the symbols CRDA and CRDB.