GEICO Begins Construction on New Buffalo Office

BUFFALO, N.Y., Oct. 20, 2004 -- GEICO officially broke ground this morning for the construction of its 250,000-square-foot Buffalo office building. Governor George E. Pataki, County Executive Joel A. Giambra, New York State Senator Mary Lou Rath and other local and state officials attended the company's groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the facility and the 2,500 new jobs it will bring to Western New York.

"Our expansion program is right on schedule, and that's good news," said GEICO President and CEO Tony Nicely. "In our temporary location, we already have almost 400 associates. We want to grow that to 500 associates by the end of the year, and we will probably be out of space before this new building is complete."

In December 2003 GEICO announced plans to open an office in Western New York, and in March, the company moved into office space on John Muir Drive with 75 sales and service associates. GEICO expects to create as many as 2,500 jobs for the area. GEICO officials say they will need more associates to handle the new business coming from the company's recent reentry into the New Jersey market. In addition to New England and upstate New York operations, the GEICO Buffalo office will be responsible for all New Jersey sales, service, and underwriting.

"Today we celebrate another milestone in what represents one of the largest economic development deals in the nation, as GEICO breaks ground on their new service center in Western New York," Governor Pataki said. "When complete and fully-operational, this new Center will provide 2,500 good-paying jobs for people in the Greater Buffalo area and have a tremendous impact on the region's economy."

John Zinno, assistant vice president and manager of Buffalo operations, commented on the reception the company has received in Western New York, "I've now been in Buffalo since January, and as I talk to people throughout Western New York, everyone says 'thank you for bringing GEICO to Buffalo.' We certainly appreciate your thank you, but GEICO should be thanking you for allowing us to come to Western New York. I want to thank you for your hospitality, support, friendship, and guidance.

"But most of all, we thank you for the wonderful people we've been able to recruit," continued Zinno. "They are products of your excellent educational system at the primary, secondary, and collegiate levels."

Uniland Development Company is the general contractor for the project. Situated in Uniland's CrossPoint Business Park, the GEICO Buffalo office will house a restaurant-style cafeteria and a health and fitness center. The building is expected to be completed in 11 months.

"The determined efforts of government, public and private sectors are now clearly visible as Uniland begins construction of the new GEICO Buffalo Office," said Carl J. Montante, president and managing director of Uniland Development Company. "We are proud to partner with GEICO in this accomplishment and look forward to the positive impact it will have in the Western New York community."

Also on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony from GEICO were Bill Roberts, executive vice president; and Bob Miller, senior vice president and head of GEICO's Northeast operations.

GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the fifth largest private passenger auto insurer in the United States. It provides auto insurance coverage for more than 5.9 million policyholders and insures more than 9.5 million vehicles. GEICO uses television, radio, print media and direct mail to attract customers to call its 1-800-841-3000 number and to its http://www.geico.com/ Web site, and keeps its rates low by dealing directly with the customer. GEICO offers sales and claim services 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information, go to http://www.geico.com/.