Erie, Pa. -- April 26, 2000 -- At the Annual Shareholders Meeting of the Erie Indemnity Company (Nasdaq: ERIE) yesterday, eight incumbent members of the board were re-elected and four new directors were added to the board. Five incumbent members were not re-elected.

The original slate of directors for election offered by the nominating committee of the company’s board of directors included all but one incumbent board member, Susan Hirt Hagen. Earlier this month, Susan Hirt Hagen challenged the company’s nominating process in court, proposing a separate slate of directors to be nominated from the floor at the annual meeting. On Monday, April 24, 2000, a local Erie County Court of Common Pleas judge rendered a decision allowing Mrs. Hagen to nominate from the floor. At the annual meeting, Mrs. Hagen proposed her slate of directors for election by the shareholders, which included herself and 10 new nominees. She also waived her original condition that her slate be elected only if it constituted a majority.

The new Erie Indemnity Company Board of Directors elected at the Annual Shareholders Meeting is comprised of seven members of the company’s nominated slate and five members of Mrs. Hagen’s slate. All directors were elected to a one-year term.

F. William Hirt, chairman of the board, recognized the contributions of all incumbent board members and welcomed the new directors to the Erie Indemnity Company board.

"I wish to recognize the outstanding work of all incumbent directors of the Erie Indemnity Company board. While all of the directors will not be returning, I am pleased that the majority of incumbent directors who have contributed so much to the success of the Erie Indemnity Company will continue on the board," said Mr. Hirt. "At the same time, I want to welcome our new directors. We look forward to their contributions and will work hard to integrate them into the Erie Indemnity board."

Re-elected to the Board of Directors:

• Samuel P. Black III, President of Samuel P. Black & Associates
• J. Ralph Borneman Jr., President of Body-Borneman Associates
• F. William Hirt, Chairman of the Board of Erie Indemnity, Erie Insurance Co.
• Stephen A. Milne, President and CEO of Erie Indemnity and Erie Insurance Co.
• John M. Petersen, Retired President and CEO of Erie Indemnity and Erie Insurance Co.
• Jan R. Van Gorder, Senior Executive Vice President of Erie Indemnity and Erie Insurance Co.
• Robert C. Wilburn, Distinguished Service Professor at Carnegie Mellon
• Susan Hirt Hagen, Managing Partner Hagen, Herr & Peppin

Newly elected to the Erie Indemnity Board:

• Samuel P. Katz, Founder, President and CEO of Enter Sport Capital Advisors, Inc.
• Claude C. Lilly III, Interim Dean at Belk College of Business Administration, University of North Carolina Charlotte
• Henry N. Nassau, Managing Director, General Counsel and Secretary, Internet Capital Group, Inc.
• Patricia Garrison-Corbin, Founder, President & CEO of P.G. Corbin & Company, Inc.

Steve Milne, president and CEO of the company, echoed Mr. Hirt’s sentiments. "Erie Insurance is an extremely successful company that has flourished under the direction of our current board and management. The company’s chairman, Bill Hirt, is an outstanding individual whose leadership has sustained The ERIE’s success. I’m pleased that there is now resolution to this matter and look forward to a cooperative working relationship with our newly formed board of directors. I am certain that our board will continue to adhere to our company’s founding principles to provide the best service at the lowest possible cost."

At the board of directors meeting immediately following the Annual Shareholders Meeting, the board unanimously re-elected the current executive management team of the company and re-elected Bill Hirt as chairman of the board.

Milne recognized the contributions of Bill Hirt at the company’s shareholders meeting, "On the occasion of the company’s 75^th anniversary, I also want to recognize the tremendous leadership that Bill Hirt has brought to this company over many years. Continuing the legacy of his father H.O. Hirt, who founded the company, Bill is dedicated to preserving the clarity of his father’s vision. If anyone can unite our new board toward a common purpose — the continued success of this company — Bill can."

Erie Family Life Insurance Company, an affiliated life insurance company, also conducted its Annual Shareholders Meeting yesterday. At that meeting, the slate offered by the nominating committee of the board of directors (identical to the Erie Indemnity Company’s nominated slate) was elected by 92% of the company’s shareholders. The slate included all incumbent directors but one, Susan Hirt Hagen, who was not re-nominated.

The Annual Shareholders Meeting of the Erie Insurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Erie Indemnity Company, was also held yesterday. The slate of incumbent directors proposed by the company’s nominating committee were re-elected.

The five incumbent members who were not re-elected to the Erie Indemnity Company board remain on the boards of Erie Family Life Insurance Company and the Erie Insurance Company.

Erie Indemnity Company is the principal management company for the member companies of the Erie Insurance Group, which includes the Erie Insurance Exchange, Flagship City Insurance Company, Erie Insurance Company, Erie Insurance Property and Casualty Company, Erie Insurance Company of New York and Erie Family Life Insurance Company.

Erie Insurance Exchange is the 12th largest insurer of private passenger automobiles. Erie Insurance Group is the 25th largest property and casualty insurance group in the United States. Erie Insurance operates in 10 states and the District of Columbia.