BATON ROUGE, La. (July 10, 2008) -- For the seventh consecutive year, Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation (LWCC) has been named one of the 50 top-performing property-casualty insurers in America.

LWCC was selected as one of the Ward's 50 from more than 3,000 property-casualty insurance companies nationwide. The designations are issued annually by Ward Group, a Cincinnati-based management consulting firm acknowledged as the leading authority on benchmarking and best practices services for the insurance industry.

"The fact that LWCC has attained this high standard for seven straight years demonstrates our commitment to providing the very best service to our policyholders, injured workers and agents," said Kristin W. Wall, LWCC's president and chief executive officer. "As the only Ward's 50 property-casualty company from Louisiana, we are proud to receive this designation that is based on safety, consistency and performance."

Ward Group made the selections after conducting a financial-performance analysis of more than 3,000 insurers.

Each Ward's 50 company has passed all safety and consistency screens and achieved superior performance over the five years analyzed, 2003-2007. The Ward's 50 property and casualty insurance companies produced an 18.7% return on average equity over the five years compared to 14.6% for the property and casualty industry overall.

"It is important for companies to remain focused on meeting revenue goals while maintaining an efficient operating model that enables them to meet customer demands," said Jeff Rieder, president of Ward Group, in reference to the current competitive market. "The best companies excel at balancing expense management, technology deployment and customer service."

Ward Group released the names of its winners and an in-depth analysis on July 7. A complete list of the Ward's 50 benchmark group is located on the firm?s Web site at www.wardinc.com.

About LWCC
LWCC (www.lwcc.com) is a private, nonprofit mutual insurance company.  It is the largest writer of workers' compensation insurance in Louisiana, covering about 22,000 policyholders. The company carries an "A" (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best.

About Ward Group
Ward Group (www.wardinc.com) is a management consulting firm specializing in the insurance industry. The Cincinnati-based firm is committed to providing accurate results, consistent reporting and trusted analysis of company performance including benchmarking, operational consulting and information services. Since 1991, the firm has empowered companies with the knowledge to capitalize on strengths and overcome obstacles through its unique information resources and analysis.