LA Auto Club Expands Reach to AAA Northern New England

    LOS ANGELES--Dec. 18, 2002--The Automobile Club of Southern California today reached eastward with the affiliation of AAA Northern New England, which operates in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
    Both motor clubs will coordinate strategic and business planning with the overall goal of increasing services and products for members, while spreading costs over a wider member base. The affiliation will give the Auto Club a new market for its affiliated insurance company, while AAA Northern New England will gain access to a wider array of high-quality products and services for its members.
    The Auto Club is not purchasing AAA Northern New England, nor are the clubs merging. Both clubs will retain their own identities, including their names and individual boards of directors. Neither AAA club is a stock company, so there is no equity interest on the part of management, no stock options and no management access to assets.
    "The affiliation will allow both the Auto Club and AAA Northern New England to be increasingly cost-effective and efficient in delivering services and products to members," said Thomas V. McKernan Jr., president and CEO of the Auto Club.
    "Our mutual goal is to keep dues as low as possible for members, while meeting their ever-changing lifestyle needs and expectations. AAA Northern New England is a well-managed club that shares our member focus and dedication to member service."
    The Auto Club has the lowest AAA member dues in the West and AAA Northern New England has the lowest dues in the East. The Auto Club also provides members with the widest variety of services of any AAA club.
    With nearly 7 million members, the Auto Club, along with its subsidiaries, is the largest and the financially strongest club in the AAA federation. It acquired AAA clubs in Texas, New Mexico and Hawaii in 1996. The New England affiliation follows a new trend in AAA toward affiliations rather than purchases.
    AAA Northern New England, which has 700,000 members, has worked closely with the Auto Club for the past six years. The Auto Club helped to design Northern New England's original Web site, helped to initiate its vehicle purchasing program and publishes its member magazine, "New England Journey."
    "AAA Northern New England chose to affiliate with the Auto Club because we excel at member service delivery," said McKernan. "Our membership retention is among the highest in the AAA federation, our growth rate is higher than the national AAA average and we have the largest travel agency in the AAA federation."
    "The Auto Club's insurance affiliate offers high quality, competitively priced insurance products that we plan to make available to Northern New England members," McKernan added.
    "Our insurance affiliate has been nationally recognized for customer service by J.D. Power and Associates and as a top financial performer by Ward's 50 Benchmark Group. It has an A+ rating from A.M. Best and it is among the most cost-efficient insurers in the country.
    "The affiliation with AAA Northern New England will provide greater geographical diversity for the Interinsurance Exchange, reducing its risk of catastrophic losses."
    The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing, buying and financing programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services and highway and transportation safety programs.
    Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa-calif.com.