Press Release

The release will also provide notice that supplemental financial schedules for HCC's fourth quarter and full-year 2009 earnings results will be available on the Company's website at http://www.hcc.com, as well as directly in the Investor Relations section of HCC's website at http://ir.hcc.com.

HCC will hold an open conference call the following morning, Wednesday, February 24, at 8:00 a.m. Central Standard Time to discuss the results.

To participate, the conference call numbers are:

Domestic: (800) 374-0290

International: (706) 634-0161

There will also be a live, listen-only webcast of the conference call on the Company's website, http://www.hcc.com. The webcast replay will be archived in the Investor Relations section of the HCC website through Friday, May 7, 2010.

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 September 30, 2009, HCC had assets of $9.0 billion and shareholders' equity of $3.0 billion. HCC is rated AA (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor's and AA (Very Strong) by Fitch Ratings. In addition, HCC's major domestic insurance companies are rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company.

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.

CONTACT:  HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc.
          Jen Browne, Investor Relations Coordinator
          (713) 996-1144