SAN FRANCISCO, June 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Esurance, the direct-to-customer online auto insurance company, announced the winners of its annual grant program for charitable causes. For the past two years, Esurance associates in each of Esurance’s office locations nationwide have helped select worthy organizations the company supports for its cause marketing efforts. In 2009, to streamline the submission process and help connect its charitably-minded associates across the U.S., Esurance partnered with leading charity-focused social Web platform, YourCause.com.

For the grant program, Esurance associates submit their favorite community causes for review and voting, with winning organizations in each location receiving a $5,000 grant and volunteer support from Esurance. The organizations selected as this year’s Esurance Grant Program winners represent a wide range of causes, from Children’s Hospital in Denver, to Habitat for Humanity in Phoenix, to Sacramento’s local SPCA.

John Swigart, Esurance’s Chief Marketing Officer, stated "Now more than ever, it’s important that we give back to our local communities. Our associates are great resources to guide our cause marketing efforts, as they have great insights into local causes that really need our support. By engaging and empowering our associates through the YourCause.com online platform, we have made our grant program even more effective by maximizing associate participation."

The Esurance private label YourCause.com site allows associates to nominate their favorite charities for the grant program, or find charities in their communities from YourCause.com’s database of over 1,000,000 charitable organizations. Esurance associates are also able to cast a vote for a nominated organization to win the Esurance grant. Through the interface, associates are also able to view information about other causes supported by Esurance associates, and learn more about those organizations.

"The partnership between Esurance and YourCause is poised to set a precedent for companies truly devoted to corporate social responsibility in a Web 2.0 world," says site co-founder Matthew Combs. "Worthwhile organizations need corporate support more than ever, and that is what we’ll help Esurance associates do every day, using the power of the Internet to connect individuals and causes."

About Esurance(R)
Esurance, a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd. (NYSE: WTM), provides personal auto insurance direct to consumers online and through select online agents. Esurance is dedicated to constantly improving the way people shop for, buy, and manage their auto insurance. By combining the best of technology with industry know-how, Esurance is able to offer hassle-free coverage with 24/7 customer service and claims handling at competitive prices.

Through Esurance’s Web site, www.esurance.com, customers can get instant quotes, view comparison quotes, buy an Esurance policy, and print their proof of insurance card- all in minutes. Esurance also offers policyholders the ability to make policy changes and file claims instantly online, demonstrating its commitment to improving the entire insurance process from quote to claim. Esurance is proud to support our communities through charitable involvement that benefits public health, youth outreach, and the environment.

About YourCause.com
YourCause.com is a cause-focused media platform that connects a user’s cause with donors and the appropriate and qualified charity. User benefits include customized web pages, marketing and PR tools, blogging capabilities, objective tracking eligibility for daily donations, promotion and exposure to the YourCause.com community, reliable fundraising capabilities, photo uploads, and event calendars. YourCause.com is closely aligned with the non-profit Network for Good for all donor transactions. Created by Blastoff Ventures, the goal of the site is to "Empower Millions to Raise Billions."

The YourCause Private Label now offers a wide range of services for its clients, including corporate matching facilitation, corporate grant voting, and enterprise-wide tracking for all internal community and cause programs. Payroll deduction and volunteer hours monitoring are also scheduled to roll out soon. Inline with the current economic conditions, YourCause.com has been able to expand their private label deployment by reducing each client’s expenditures, while providing significant enhancements and expansions to current programs.

Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

The press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included or referenced in this release which address activities, events or developments which we expect or anticipate will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. The words "will," "believe," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "estimate," "predict" and similar expressions are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to White Mountains’:

• changes in adjusted book value per share or return on equity;
  
• business strategy;
  
• financial and operating targets or plans;
  
• incurred losses and the adequacy of its loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and related reinsurance;
  
• projections of revenues, income (or loss), earnings (or loss) per share, dividends, market share or other financial forecasts;
  
• expansion and growth of our business and operations; and
  
• future capital expenditures.

• the risks associated with Item 1A of White Mountains' 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K;
  
• claims arising from catastrophic events, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, floods or terrorist attacks;
  
• the continued availability of capital and financing;
  
• general economic, market or business conditions;
  
• business opportunities (or lack thereof) that may be presented to it and pursued;
  
• competitive forces, including the conduct of other property and casualty insurers and reinsurers;
  
• changes in domestic or foreign laws or regulations, or their interpretation, applicable to White Mountains, its competitors or its clients;
  
• an economic downturn or other economic conditions adversely affecting its financial position;
  
• recorded loss reserves subsequently proving to have been inadequate;
  
• other factors, most of which are beyond White Mountains’ control.

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