Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited

March 04, 2005 17:02 ET

Fairfax Issues Clean Report on Internal Control

NEWS RELEASE TRANSMITTED BY CCNMatthews

FOR: FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED

TSX SYMBOL: FFH.SV
NYSE SYMBOL: FFH

MARCH 4, 2005 - 17:02 ET

Fairfax Issues Clean Report on Internal Control

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - March 4, 2005) - Fairfax Financial
Holdings Limited (TSX:FFH.SV)(NYSE:FFH) announces that its 2004 Annual
Report, released today, includes a report by management concluding that
the company's internal control over financial reporting was effective as
of December 31, 2004, and an opinion by Fairfax's independent auditors
to the same effect. Neither management's report nor the auditors'
opinion identified any material weaknesses in internal controls over
financial reporting.

As a non-U.S. company, Fairfax is not currently required under the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act to undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of
its internal control over financial reporting or to obtain its
independent auditors' opinion thereon. Fairfax voluntarily elected to do
so, two years ahead of its compliance deadline, in order to assess for
itself the integrity and quality of its internal control over financial
reporting and to provide its shareholders and debtholders with the
greatest assurance of the effectiveness of its internal control over
financial reporting.

A copy of Fairfax's 2004 Annual Report is available at www.fairfax.ca.

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a financial services holding
company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and
casualty insurance and reinsurance, investment management and insurance
claims management.

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