Eastern Alliance Insurance Group Celebrates a Decade of Partnership with the Pennsylvania...

Eastern Alliance Insurance Group Celebrates a Decade of Partnership with the
Pennsylvania Builders Association Workers' Compensation Program

LANCASTER, Pa.,March 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eastern Alliance Insurance
Group ("EAIG") and the Pennsylvania Builders Association ("PBA") announced
today they are celebrating a decade of partnership.

A monoline workers' compensation carrier, EAIG serves as the underwriter for
the PBA's Workers' Compensation Program ("the Program"), and offers PBA
members access to workers' compensation insurance products and services. These
members are typically homebuilders and remodeling contractors engaged in
construction, as well as those members who provide products and services to
builders and remodelers.

The PBA is a nonprofit, professional trade organization which offers many
products and services to its local associations and individual members. Its
workers' compensation committee selected EAIG as the Program's underwriter in
January 1999. Over the next decade, the Program doubled in membership and its
premium volume grew eightfold, with $7.2 million in direct written premium as
of December 31, 2008.

"We are pleased to celebrate a decade of growth and partnership with the PBA,"
said Bruce Eckert, chief executive officer of EAIG's parent company, Eastern
Insurance Holdings, Inc. ("EIHI"). "The PBA Workers' Compensation Program was
EAIG's first alternative market program, and is currently our largest
association program."

The Program's loss ratio has decreased to less than half of its 1999 number, a
fact Eckert attributes to EAIG's focus on claim and risk management. "This is
further proof that our emphasis on proactive risk management, industry-leading
medical cost management techniques and return-to-work initiatives has made a
significant impact on containing claim costs."

"The Program is an important value-added benefit for our members," said Jon
Grella, chief financial officer for the PBA. "Our decade-long relationship
with EAIG has added stability to the Program. The fact that nearly 70 of our
members have renewed their policies for ten years in a row demonstrates the
Program's tremendous value."

Another crucial partner in the Program success is E.K. McConkey and Co.
("McConkey"), a York-based independent insurance agency who assumed Program
Administrator duties in 2005. McConkey acts as a liaison between the PBA and
EAIG, assisting in annual Program renewal negotiations and developing
marketing plans, while serving as a marketing and sales resource for the
agents authorized to conduct business for the Program.

"We've helped drive the Program to its highest premium volume in its history,
with over one million dollars written in new business in 2008," said Steve
Buterbaugh, vice president for McConkey. "We've also expanded the Program into
the Maryland market place, through partnerships with the Home Builders
Association of Maryland and the Eastern Shore Building Industry Association."

"In the often-volatile workers' compensation market place, the Program is a
great example of a successful, stable partnership," said Grella. "We're
looking forward to celebrating ten more years."

Founded in 1997, EAIG specializes in providing workers' compensation products
and services to businesses and self-insured clients. EAIG distributes its
products through independent insurance agencies. EAIG is a member of the
publicly-held Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIHI) family of
companies, with regional offices in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Charlotte, North
Carolina, and Indianapolis, Indiana. EAIG's Web address is www.eains.com.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by
terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "project," "plan,"
"intend," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or
"continue," the negative of these terms or other terminology. Forward-looking
statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the time
the statements are made and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in
the forward-looking statements, therefore no assurance can be given that
management's expectations, beliefs or projections will occur or be achieved or
accomplished. Factors that could affect the Company's actual results include,
among others, the fact that our loss reserves are based on estimates and may
be inadequate to cover our actual losses; the uncertain effects of emerging
claim and coverage issues on our business; the geographic concentration of our
business; an inability to obtain or collect on our reinsurance protection; a
downgrade in the A.M. Best rating of our insurance subsidiaries; the impact of
extensive regulation of the insurance industry and legislative and regulatory
changes, a failure to realize our investment objectives; the effects of
intense competition; the loss of one or more principal employees; the
inability to acquire additional capital on favorable terms; a failure of
independent insurance brokers to adequately market our products; and the
effects of acts of terrorism or war. More information about these and other
factors that potentially could affect our financial results is included in our
Form S-1 Registration Statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission and in our other public filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon
these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this
release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements. This press release also does not constitute an offer to sell, or
a solicitation of an offer to buy, EIHI securities. Such an offer will be
made only by means of a prospectus.

SOURCE Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc.

Bob Gilpin, Senior Vice President Marketing, +1-717-239-1641,
bgilpin@eains.com