Old Republic Changes Accounting Policies

Old Republic International Corp., the Chicago-based parent company of Republic Mortgage Insurance Co. and Old Republic Title Insurance Co., has changed its policies on the recognition of when its equity investment securities are considered to be other-than-temporarily impaired. The change has increased the company's second-quarter net loss from the previously reported $45.4 million ($0.20 per share) to $364.7 million ($1.58 per share). In its original announcement, ORI reported after-tax unrealized investment losses of $100.5 million ($0.43 per share) for its investments in the common stock of MGIC Investment Corp., The PMI Group, and LandAmerica Financial Group. At the time, all three investments were categorized as temporarily impaired. A telephone call to ORI for further information had not been returned at deadline time. The company can be found online at http://www.oldrepublictitle.com.