SALEM, Mass., Feb. 1, 2005 – Harbour Benefits, a Salem-based insurance brokerage that specializes in providing employee benefit plans to businesses, has been renamed Eastern Benefits Group.

The name change is effective today and comes nine months after the brokerage’s acquisition by Natick-based Eastern Insurance Group, which is owned by Eastern Bank.  The change creates new synergies between the bank, the insurance agency and the benefits brokerage through marketing efforts under a single brand name: Eastern.

“We want the market to know the depth and diversity of the products we offer,” said Hope A. Aldrich, president and CEO of Eastern Insurance.  “We feel that co-branding Eastern Insurance Group and Eastern Benefits Group will make it clearer to prospects and customers that we offer a full-range of insurance products, from automobile coverage for consumers to employee disability insurance for businesses. It further positions Eastern Bank Corporation as a leader in financial service products.”

Founded in 1935, Eastern Insurance is one of New England’s largest insurance agencies, with $180 million in annual premiums and 20 offices serving 75,000 consumer and commercial customers.  For more information, visit www.easterninsurance.com.

Eastern Benefits Group will remain headquartered in Salem and continue to operate as a division of Eastern Insurance, headed by Michael D. Ward. Eastern Benefits provides an array of employee benefits plans to businesses, which range in size from 20 to several thousand employees.  The benefits plans include group health and life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and 401(k) plans. 

For more information, contact: Joe Bartolotta, Public Relations Director, Eastern Bank,
(781) 596-4411, or e-mail Joe Bartolotta.