ERIE, Pa. (Aug. 2, 2013) - Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ: ERIE) has named the Honorable Sean J. McLaughlin as executive vice president, secretary and general counsel for the company and the affiliated companies of the Erie Insurance Group effective Aug. 26, 2013. In this role McLaughlin will be responsible for the in-house Law Division. Erie Indemnity Company is the attorney-in-fact for the subscribers at Erie Insurance Exchange and manages Erie Insurance Group's other companies. He succeeds James T. Tanous who retired from the company on June 30, 2013.

An Erie native, McLaughlin most recently served as chief district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was first appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1994 and was the only district judge assigned on a full-time basis to the Erie Division.

McLaughlin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1977 and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown Law Center in 1980. Prior to joining the bench, he specialized in civil litigation at Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C., in Erie. He is active in the Northwest Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Inns of Court where he serves as a Master of a Pupilage Group. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, and the Erie County Bar Association where he formerly served on the Executive Committee.

McLaughlin will receive a stock-based award as an inducement material to his acceptance of employment with the company, including up to 9,280 performance shares. They are designed to mirror the award he would have received under the company's Long Term Incentive Plan had he been eligible to participate in the 2013-2015 performance period under the LTIP, prorated for the number of days during the performance period that he was employed with the company. Performance shares represent the right to receive shares of the company's Class A common stock. Awards, if any, for the 2013-2015 performance period will vest on Dec. 31, 2015.

This employment inducement award will be made outside of the company's stockholder approved equity plans. The company's independent compensation committee approved the equity award in reliance on an employment inducement exception to shareholder approval provided by Section 5635^©(4) of the NASDAQ Marketplace Rules.

About Erie Insurance
According to A.M. Best Company, Erie Insurance Group, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, is the 15th largest homeowners insurer and 15th largest automobile insurer in the United States based on direct premiums written and the 20th largest property/casualty insurer in the United States based on total lines net premium written. The Group, rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company, has more than 4.7 million policies in force and operates in 11 states and the District of Columbia. Erie Insurance Group is a FORTUNE 500 and Barron's 500 company. Erie Insurance is proud to have received the J.D. Power and Associates' award for "Highest in Customer Satisfaction with the Auto Insurance Purchase Experience" and to be a J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 Customer Service Champion. ERIE is one of only 50 U.S. companies so named. Erie Insurance is also recognized on the list of Ward's 50 Group of top performing insurance companies, which analyzes the financial performance of 3,000 property and casualty companies and recognizes the top performers for achieving outstanding results in safety, consistency and financial performance over a five-year period (2008-2012).

News releases and more information about Erie Insurance Group are available at www.erieinsurance.com.

CONTACT:
Leah Knapp, Erie Insurance
814/449-6792, leah.knapp@erieinsurance.com