Exhibit 99.1

Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. Reports Strong Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2010 Results

13% Annual Increase in Book Value Per Share

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 9, 2011--Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TRH) today reported net income of $142 million, or $2.22 per common share (diluted), for the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to $137 million, or $2.04 per common share (diluted), for the fourth quarter of 2009. Net operating income for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $133 million, or $2.09 per common share (diluted), compared to $131 million, or $1.96 per common share (diluted), in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Fourth quarter 2010 net income and net operating income include $23 million of pre-tax net catastrophe costs (net of reinsurance and net reinstatement premiums) consisting principally of an increase in TRH’s estimate of costs related to the third quarter 2010 earthquake in New Zealand and costs related to the fourth quarter 2010 Rockhampton floods in Australia. The 2009 fourth quarter results include a reduction of catastrophe costs of $2 million. The determination of catastrophe costs involves a significant amount of judgment and is based on information available at the time of estimation.

Robert F. Orlich, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We achieved strong earnings for the quarter and year despite an elevated level of industry catastrophe loss activity. Book value per share increased 13% in the last twelve months and 43% since the end of 2008. Net operating cash inflows totaled $1.1 billion in 2010.

“Our commitment to underwriting and fiscal discipline is allowing us to capitalize on favorable business opportunities around the world despite the pricing and economic pressures affecting reinsurers. We also took steps during 2010 to further strengthen our on-the-ground presence in key markets, opening an office in Hamilton, Bermuda to support our local business partners; upgrading our Munich office to full branch status to enhance its standing in the local market; and establishing a new entity in Gibraltar to serve our European clients. In addition, we recently completed a strategic investment to participate as a corporate name in Lloyd’s.

“Going forward, the Transatlantic franchise remains well-positioned for the future with a global brand, leading underwriting expertise in key reinsurance classes, and a strong capital position. We’re approaching the current market with discipline and selectivity, consistent with our objective of delivering excellent risk-adjusted returns to our stockholders over time, exercising prudent underwriting and capital management practices.”

Other highlights in the fourth quarter of 2010 include:

• Net premiums written of $901 million, decreasing 4% from the prior year quarter, excluding the impact of foreign exchange.
• Net investment income of $121 million, 1.5% less than a year ago.
• Realized net capital gains of $13 million, which include other-than-temporary impairment charges to earnings of ($1) million.
• Combined ratio of 94.8%, which includes 2.5 percentage points related to pre-tax net catastrophe costs. In the 2009 fourth quarter, the reduction of net catastrophe costs reduced the combined ratio by 0.2 percentage points. Net favorable loss reserve development related to prior accident years totaled $22 million in the 2010 quarter compared to net favorable development of $25 million a year ago. In the fourth quarter of 2010, such net favorable loss reserve development is net of adverse development related to catastrophe losses from prior year events totaling $6 million. Net favorable loss reserve development in the 2009 fourth quarter includes favorable development related to catastrophe losses from prior year events of $3 million.
• Annualized operating ROE of 12.3%.
• Income tax expense for the 2010 fourth quarter includes a benefit of $8 million related to the resolution of certain prior year tax matters and $8 million of tax benefit related to pre-tax net catastrophe costs incurred in the first nine months of 2010 as a result of the application of the effective tax rate method.
• Net operating cash inflows of $302 million, including $109 million related to a refund of federal income taxes relating to earlier tax years.
• Net loss and loss adjustment expense reserves of $8.21 billion at quarter-end, an increase of $94 million (including an increase of $20 million due to foreign exchange) during the quarter.
• Consolidated investments and assets of $12.97 billion and $15.71 billion, respectively, at quarter-end.
• Stockholders’ equity of $4.28 billion at quarter-end. During the quarter, TRH repurchased 1.1 million of its outstanding common shares under its previously announced share repurchase program for $55 million and has repurchased a total of $220 million of its outstanding common shares during 2010. TRH has $145 million remaining under its current share repurchase program.
• Book value per common share of $68.83 at December 31, 2010.

For the full year of 2010, net income totaled $402 million, or $6.19 per common share (diluted), compared to $478 million, or $7.15 per common share (diluted), for 2009. Net operating income for the full year of 2010 totaled $383 million, or $5.89 per common share (diluted), compared to $517 million, or $7.74 per common share (diluted), in 2009. The decrease in net income and net operating income for the year 2010 was largely due to $202 million of pre-tax net catastrophe costs recorded in 2010, partially offset by related tax benefits of $71 million, compared to insignificant catastrophe costs in 2009. The decrease in net income was partially mitigated by the recognition of realized net capital gains in 2010 compared to significant realized net capital losses in 2009. The calculation of net operating income excludes the impact of realized net capital gains (losses) and (loss) gain on early extinguishment of debt, each net of tax.

During 2011, portions of Australia experienced severe damage from several events, including the Brisbane area floods and Cyclone Yasi. Based on an analysis of preliminary data, TRH expects to incur pre-tax net catastrophe costs (net of reinstatement premiums) of between $50 million and $100 million in the first quarter of 2011. This range reflects estimated total insured losses from these events of $3 billion to $5 billion. Due to the preliminary nature of the information used to prepare this estimate, among other factors, the ultimate costs that TRH will incur related to these events may differ materially from this estimate.

Caution concerning forward-looking statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including management’s beliefs about financial, credit and industry market conditions and expectations regarding the aggregate net impact on TRH from recent catastrophe losses, within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and opinions concerning a variety of known and unknown risks. Please refer to TRH’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009 and TRH’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 as well as its other and future filings and reports filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a description of the business environment in which TRH operates and the important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect its business and financial results. If any assumptions or opinions prove incorrect, any forward-looking statements made on that basis may also prove materially incorrect. TRH is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

TRH will host a conference call on Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss fourth quarter 2010 results. The call will be webcast live on the Internet ― available through the Investor Information–News–Webcasts section of TRH’s website at www.transre.com. The live conference call can also be accessed by dialing 866-843-0890 (in the U.S.) or 412-317-9250 (International). The passcode for the conference call is 3708605.

Please refer to the Investor Information–News–Earnings Information section of TRH’s website at www.transre.com for a copy of the fourth quarter 2010 Financial Supplement which includes additional information on TRH’s financial performance.

After the completion of the call, an archived webcast will be available in the Investor Information section of TRH’s website. Until February 17, 2011, a replay of the call will be available by dialing 877-344-7529 (in the U.S.) or 412-317-0088 (International). The passcode to access the replay is 446598.

Transatlantic Holdings, Inc. (TRH) is a leading international reinsurance organization headquartered in New York, with operations on six continents. Its subsidiaries, Transatlantic Reinsurance Company^®, Trans Re Zurich Reinsurance Company Ltd. and Putnam Reinsurance Company, offer reinsurance capacity on both a treaty and facultative basis ― structuring programs for a full range of property and casualty products, with an emphasis on specialty risks.

The performance of TRH is commonly assessed by analysts and others based on performance measures which are not defined under GAAP. Those measures include net operating income (“NOI”), NOI Per Common Share (diluted) and annualized operating return on equity (“Annualized Operating ROE”). NOI is defined as GAAP net income excluding realized net capital gains (losses) and the (loss) gain on early extinguishment of debt, net of taxes. NOI Per Common Share (diluted) represents NOI divided by average common shares outstanding on a diluted basis. Annualized Operating ROE is defined as NOI divided by the average of beginning and ending stockholders’ equity, or for three month periods, NOI divided by the average of beginning and ending stockholders’ equity multiplied by four. In addition, GAAP annualized return on equity (“GAAP Annualized ROE”) is defined as GAAP net income divided by the average of beginning and ending stockholders’ equity, or for the three month periods, GAAP net income divided by the average of beginning and ending stockholders’ equity multiplied by four. TRH uses these measures in analyzing its performance as these measures focus on the core fundamentals of TRH’s operations. While TRH considers realized net capital gains (losses) and the (loss) gain on early extinguishment of debt as integral parts of its business and results, such items are not indicative of the core fundamentals of TRH’s operations. TRH believes these measures are of interest to the investment community because they provide additional meaningful methods of evaluating certain aspects of TRH’s operating performance from period to period on bases that are not otherwise apparent under GAAP. These non-GAAP measures, namely, NOI, NOI Per Common Share (diluted) and Annualized Operating ROE should not be viewed as substitutes for GAAP net income, GAAP net income per common share on a diluted basis and GAAP Annualized ROE, respectively. Reconciliations of NOI, NOI Per Common Share (diluted) and Annualized Operating ROE to GAAP net income, GAAP net income per common share on a diluted basis and GAAP Annualized ROE, respectively, the most directly comparable GAAP measures, are included later in this press release.

TRH’s GAAP combined ratio and its components are presented in accordance with the methodology commonly used by insurance industry analysts and TRH's peers. The property and casualty insurance and reinsurance industries use the combined ratio as a measure of underwriting profitability. The combined ratio represents the sum of the loss ratio and the underwriting expense ratio. The loss ratio represents net losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred expressed as a percentage of net premiums earned. The underwriting expense ratio represents the sum of the commission ratio and the other underwriting expense ratio. The commission ratio represents the sum of net commissions and the (increase) decrease in deferred policy acquisition costs expressed as a percentage of net premiums earned. The other underwriting expense ratio represents other underwriting expenses expressed as a percentage of net premiums earned.

Net loss and loss adjustment expense reserves represent unpaid losses and loss adjustment expenses net of related reinsurance recoverable, and are presented in accordance with principles prescribed or permitted by insurance regulatory authorities.

In addition, book value per common share is defined as stockholders’ equity divided by common shares outstanding.

CONTACTS:
Transatlantic Holdings, Inc.
Thomas V. Cholnoky, 212-365-2292