Argo Surety Expands Capacity, Establishes Presence in Chicago with Appointment of Dan Carlson as Vice President for North Central and Western U.S. Regions16:00 EDT Tuesday, August 23, 2011 HAMILTON, Bermuda (Business Wire) -- Argo Surety, a member ofArgo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (Nasdaq GS: AGII), announced today that it has established a presence in the Chicago area with the appointment of Dan Carlson as vice president for North Central and Western U.S. Regions. In addition, it is now offering up to $50,000,000 in aggregate surety bond capacity for qualifying clients. Mr. Carlson will report to Argo Surety Chief Underwriting Officer Josh Betz. He joins Surety Underwriting Vice President Mark Farina and an established commercial surety team, where he will build and manage the infrastructure for underwriting and marketing commercial surety, as well as assist in developing a national plan for operations within the commercial surety platform. “Dan has a great reputation and surety experience and we're pleased to have him join Argo Group,” said Mr. Betz. “I'm thrilled to have him represent us in Chicago, one of our largest markets. With our national expansion plan and our expanded surety capacity, Argo Surety is a committed, long-term market that our clients can depend on. The additional capacity allows us to grow with the clients we've partnered with from day one.” Mr. Carlson has more than 25 years of commercial surety experience. For the last eight years, he served as senior regional vice president for Zurich Surety. Argo Surety specializes in commercial and contract surety bonds, providing coverage for licenses and permits, court costs, and other miscellaneous needs. Targeted classes include, but are not limited to: service and general contractors, highway, transportation, manufacturing, energy/oil and gas, waste services, public utilities, healthcare, technology and coal and other mining. See more details about Argo Surety coverage. ABOUT ARGO GROUP INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS, LTD. Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NasdaqGS: AGII) is an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market. Argo Group offers a full line of products and services designed to meet the unique coverage and claims handling needs of businesses in four primary segments: Excess & Surplus Lines, Commercial Specialty, International Specialty and Syndicate 1200. Argo Group's insurance subsidiaries are A. M. Best-rated 'A' (Excellent) (third highest rating out of 16 rating classifications) with a stable outlook, and Argo's U.S. insurance subsidiaries are Standard and Poor's-rated 'A-' (Strong) with a stable outlook. More information on Argo Group and its subsidiaries is available at www.argolimited.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are qualified by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations generally and also may differ materially from actual future experience involving any one or more of such statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and uncertainties, see Argo Group's filings with the SEC. The inclusion of a forward-looking statement herein should not be regarded as a representation by Argo Group that Argo Group's objectives will be achieved. Argo Group undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd.Lisa Scannell, 617-235-6138VP, Marketing & Communications