SEC Form 4

FORM 4		UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0287 Estimated average burden hours per response: 0.5
	Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person* HCC INSURANCE HOLDINGS INC/DE/ (Last) (First) (Middle) (Street) (City) (State) (Zip)	2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol ARGONAUT GROUP INC [ AGII ]	5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) Director X 10% Owner Officer (give title below) Other (specify below)
	3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year) 05/10/2004
	4. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) X Form filed by One Reporting Person Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed Of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock	05/10/2004		P		5,000	A	$17.99	724,874	I	See Footnote 1(1)
Common Stock	05/12/2004		P		10,000	A	$17.952	734,874	I	See Footnote 1(1)

Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)	2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)		6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		7. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 3 and 4)		8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)	9. Number of derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)	10. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
				Code	V	(A)	(D)	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Series A Mandatory Convertible Preferred Stock	$12							03/31/2003	03/31/2013	Common Stock	2,453,310		2,453,310	I	See Footnote 2(2)

Explanation of Responses:

1. Through its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, HCC Strategic Investments, LLC.

2. Through its direct or indirect subsidiaries: Houston Casualty Company (owner of 1,166,667 shares), U.S. Specialty Insurance Company (owner of 416,667 shares), HCC Life Insurance Company (owner of 286,643 shares) and Avemco Insurance Company (owner of 583,333 shares). The Preferred Stock mandatorily converts on its 10th anniversay.

	Christopher L. Martin, Executive Vice President & Secretary	05/12/2004
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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