Axel Schmidt Joins Argo as Group Chief Underwriting Officer

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: AGII), an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products, announced today that Axel Schmidt has been hired as group chief underwriting officer. Mr. Schmidt will succeed Andrew Carrier who has announced he will be leaving Argo for personal reasons this summer.

"We’re very pleased to have recruited Axel to this important role,” said Argo Group President and Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Watson III. "He brings a strong reputation, tremendous experience in global underwriting strategy and a track record of improving profitability. We’re fortunate to have him join our executive team.”

"We thank Andrew for his success in building an expert, disciplined underwriting culture throughout Argo,” continued Mr. Watson. "In addition to developing our Group CUO role, Andrew created and led our reinsurance operation, Argo Re, before handing the reins over to Matthew Wilken last year. He’s leaving Argo with an underwriting portfolio that is well balanced and in good shape.”

Mr. Schmidt has more than 25 years experience in the global insurance and reinsurance market. He comes to Argo from Aviva where he served as CUO for the company’s UK/Ireland business across personal, commercial and corporate/specialty lines. He was also responsible for Aviva’s group-wide underwriting, pricing, products and claims strategy. Prior to joining Aviva, he spent 20 years at Zurich where he held a number of senior underwriting and management positions including Deputy Chief Executive Officer/CUO of Zurich’s corporate business in Europe/UK and Underwriting Director for Zurich’s global corporate business.

About Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd.

Argo Group International Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: AGII) is an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in the property and casualty market. Through its operating subsidiaries, 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 worldwide insurance subsidiaries are rated ‘A’ (Excellent) by A.M. Best and its U.S. insurance subsidiaries are rated ‘A-’ (Strong) by Standard & Poor’s. For more information, visit 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.