HOUSTON, Oct. 20, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:HCC) announced today that it will combine Professional Indemnity Agency, HCC Public Risk, and HCC Specialty Underwriters under its newly created underwriting division, HCC Specialty.
"Combining three successful businesses under the HCC Specialty banner will create a more efficient operational structure and make HCC more accessible to its wholesale and retail distribution partners. Through HCC Specialty, we can cross-sell a host of industry leading products and capabilities that complement each other," said HCC President and Chief Executive Officer John N. Molbeck, Jr.
HCC Specialty will be led by Bill Hubbard as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to accepting this position, Mr. Hubbard served as Chairman of HCC Specialty Underwriters in Boston, Massachusetts. HCC Specialty is expected to generate gross written premium approaching $400 million in 2010 and will be among the industry's leading underwriters of several specialty insurance products, including: disability insurance for professional athletes & entertainers, miscellaneous professional, architects & engineers professional, contractors professional, employment practices liability, public entity, DIC, event cancelation, special event liability, kidnap & ransom, product recall, restaurant recovery, prize indemnity, and weather.
Mr. Molbeck commented, "This important step allows us to leverage the skills of our strong business leaders, position HCC for continued growth, and will contribute to our goal of building a unified HCC brand."
HCC also announced that effective January 1, 2011, PIA's Diversified Financial Products and Fidelity businesses will be managed by Andy Stone, Chief Executive Officer of HCC's Global Financial Products business.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a leading international specialty insurance group with offices across the United States and in the United Kingdom, Spain and Ireland. As of June 30, 2010, HCC had assets of $9.0 billion and shareholders' equity of $3.2 billion. HCC's major domestic and international insurance companies have a financial strength rating of "AA (Very Strong)" from Standard & Poor's Corporation. HCC's major domestic insurance companies have a financial strength rating of "AA (Very Strong)" from Fitch Ratings, "A1 (Good Security)" from Moody's Investors Service, Inc., and "A+ (Superior)" by A.M. Best Company, Inc.
For more information about HCC, please visit http://www.hcc.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.