Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend

LANCASTER, Pa., May 30 PA-Eastern-Insur-div


LANCASTER, Pa., May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Eastern Insurance
Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: EIHI) ("EIHI," the "Company") announced today that its
board of directors has authorized a $0.07 per share quarterly cash dividend on
its issued and outstanding shares of common stock, payable June 27, 2008 to
shareholders of record at the close of business on June 13, 2008.


EIHI is the parent company of Eastern Life and Health Insurance Company
("Eastern Life and Health"), which converted from mutual to stock form on June
16, 2006.  The Pennsylvania Insurance Department's order approving the
conversion prohibits both Eastern Life and Health and EIHI from making any
distribution to shareholders without prior Pennsylvania Insurance Department
approval for a period of three years.  EIHI sought and received Pennsylvania
Insurance Department approval for this quarterly dividend.  It is the present
intent of EIHI to seek approval from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department for
future quarterly dividends during the remaining 12 months that it is subject
to this Pennsylvania Insurance Department order if economic conditions and
EIHI's financial performance warrant.  No assurance can be given, however,
that any such permission, if sought, will be received.


EIHI operates through its subsidiaries a domestic casualty insurance group
specializing in workers' compensation, a domestic life and health insurance
company, an offshore specialty reinsurance company and a third-party claims
administration company.


EIHI is located at 25 Race Avenue in Lancaster.  The company's Web address
is http://www.easterninsuranceholdings.com.



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," "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.  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.



SOURCE  Eastern Insurance Holdings, Inc.