HOUSTON, June 16, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) announced today, subject to regulatory approval, the formation of HCC Credit Underwriters, Inc. (HCC-CU), an underwriting agency to be located in New York City with a branch office in London. HCC-CU will specialize in short and medium term credit risks for U.S. and international companies and will underwrite on behalf of its affiliated insurance companies: Houston Casualty Company, HCC Europe, US Specialty Insurance Company and HCC Reinsurance Company.
Mark P. Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, will join the new operation from Exporters Insurance Company where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer since 1990. Mr. Reynolds, who is 49 years old and has over 25 years of experience in financial insurance, was previously Underwriting Manager of political risk for Professional Indemnity Agency, now a wholly owned subsidiary of HCC, and Vice President and Manager of AIG Export Credit Insurance Department.
Robert F. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of HCC Credit and Surety Group, said, "We are fortunate to have obtained the services of Mark Reynolds whose broad based experience in financial products and credit risks allows us to continue to expand into new specialty lines of business."
HCC is an international insurance holding company and a leading specialty insurance group since 1974, based in Houston, Texas with offices across the USA and in Bermuda, England and Spain. HCC is traded on the NYSE (symbol: HCC), has assets exceeding $6.0 billion and is rated AA (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor's and A+ (Superior) by A. M. Best Company.
For more information, visit our website at www.hcch.com.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made under "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The types of risks and uncertainties which may affect the Company are set forth in its periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.