IAAI Insurance Auto Auctions (MM)

Insurance Auto Auctions Announces Strategic Acquisition in Jackson, Mississippi SCHAUMBURG, Ill., July 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. (NASDAQ:IAAI), a leading provider of automotive salvage and claims processing services in the United States, today announced the acquisition of Mid-South Salvage LLC, a 15-acre operation located in Jackson, Mississippi. The new site holds bi-weekly onsite auctions and houses a VIC (Vehicle Inspection Center) for its insurance company customers. The site represents the Company's first operation in the state of Mississippi, but will cost effectively leverage existing operations in Baton Rouge, La. and Little Rock, Ark. The Company plans to install its new IT system in the branch in the near future. "We are pleased to announce the Jackson acquisition, as it fits perfectly with our ongoing growth strategy of cost-effectively leveraging existing operations," said Tom O'Brien, CEO of IAA. "The addition of this new location fills a clear void in our coverage of the southern United States, giving us the opportunity to provide better service to both existing and potential customers in the area. We will remain focused on achieving similar market penetration through continued cost-effective acquisitions going forward." About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., founded in 1982, a leader in automotive total loss and specialty salvage services in the United States, provides insurance companies with cost-effective, turnkey solutions to process and sell total-loss and recovered-theft vehicles. The Company currently has 77 sites across the United States. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements in this document contain forward-looking information that is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, expressed, or implied by such forward-looking information. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by our use of words such as "may, will, should, anticipates, believes, expects, plans, future, intends, could, estimate, predict, projects, targeting, potential or contingent," the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed or implied herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2003 or subsequent quarterly reports. Among these risks are: changes in the market value of salvage; the quality and quantity of inventory available from suppliers; the ability to pass through increased towing costs; that vehicle processing time will improve; legislative or regulatory acts; competition; the availability of suitable acquisition candidates and greenfield opportunities; the ability to bring new facilities to expected earnings targets; the dependence on key insurance company suppliers; the ability of the Company and its outside consultants to successfully complete the re-design of the Company's information systems, both in a timely manner and according to costs and operational specifications; and the level of energy and labor costs. Additional information about Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is available on the World Wide Web at http://www.iaai.com/ . Website: http://www.iaai.com DATASOURCE: Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. CONTACT: Scott Pettit, Chief Financial Officer of Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., +1-847-839-4040, or General Inquiries, Chris Kettmann of Ashton Partners, +1-312-553-6716

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