HCC Holdings Delays Q2 Report

HCC Insurance Holdings, Inc. out of Houston, Tex. said that it will delay filing its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 until completion of an independent review of its stock option granting practices.

As previously disclosed in a Form 12b-25 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2006, the company’s management initiated a voluntary internal review of its stock option granting practices. The voluntary review found that in some instances the grant date may differ from the date used to record certain prior option grants, which could mean those grants may have been recorded incorrectly. Thereafter, the board of directors authorized its audit committee to conduct a comprehensive independent review of the company’s stock option granting practices from 1995 to the present. The audit committee has engaged independent counsel to assist in the review, according to the company.

This review is ongoing and no conclusions have been reached. The company voluntarily notified the staff of the SEC of its review and the SEC has initiated an informal inquiry into this matter. The company said it intends to fully cooperate.

The companys aid that upon completion of the review it would announce what, if any, adjustments to its consolidated financial statements are necessary, whether restatement of any previously filed financial statements is required and whether any material weaknesses in the system of internal control over financial reporting have been identified.

HCC is an insurance holding company and a specialty insurance group. HCC has assets exceeding $7 billion and is rated AA (Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s and A+ (Superior) by A. M. Best Company.

Source: HCC Insurance Holdings
www.hcc.com.