Aspen Insurance Holdings Announces Two Senior Underwriting Appointments and Establishment of an International Casualty Facultative Reinsurance Unit

• Press Release
• Source: Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
• On 11:23 am EDT, Monday September 7, 2009

HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (“Aspen” or “the Company”) (NYSE: AHL - News) today announced the appointment of two senior underwriting executives to develop both its insurance and reinsurance activities and the establishment of an international casualty facultative reinsurance unit.

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William F. Murray has been appointed President of US Insurance, joining Aspen from W.R. Berkley, where he held a number of leadership positions and was most recently President of Regional Excess Underwriters. He will report to Chris O’Kane, Chief Executive Officer of Aspen and will lead the development of Aspen’s US insurance franchise, including its existing excess and surplus (“E&S”) lines operation and the addition of admitted capability.

In reinsurance, the Company has appointed Peter Emblin as Head of Latin American Reinsurance and International Casualty Reinsurance Business Development. Peter joins from Swiss Re where his responsibilities included Swiss Re’s Latin American operations. In his new role at Aspen, Peter will be responsible for developing the Company’s reinsurance footprint in Latin America and overseeing the development of Aspen’s non US casualty reinsurance operations. Peter Emblin will report to Brian Boornazian, President, Aspen Re.

Marcus Gonzales also joins the team as Head of International Casualty Facultative Reinsurance and will support Aspen’s reinsurance activities through the development of non US casualty facultative business. Marcus will report to Donna McDermott, Head of Aspen’s casualty facultative division.

“I am delighted to welcome Bill, Peter and Marcus to Aspen,” said Chris O’Kane, Chief Executive Officer of the Company. “Bill is a strong business manager with a successful underwriting track-record. He is well suited to oversee the growth and strategic development of our US insurance business, which is an area of particular focus for Aspen.”

Chris O’Kane continued, “A core component of Aspen’s strategy is the selective diversification of our business through new product lines and an expanding geographic footprint when market conditions are right. Peter’s knowledge and experience will benefit Aspen as we extend our product offerings and distribution platforms to areas such as Latin America. Marcus will complement our existing US casualty facultative operation.”

About William F. Murray

Bill Murray most recently served as President of W.R. Berkley’s Regional Excess Underwriters. He had previously been President of Carolina Casualty Insurance Company and Admiral Excess Underwriters, both members of the W.R. Berkley Group. He began his insurance career in 1986 as an underwriter in the Berkshire Hathaway group where he remained for 17 years after serving in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

About Peter Emblin

Peter Emblin is an experienced reinsurance professional with particular expertise in the Latin American reinsurance industry. He joins Aspen from SwissRe where he was employed from 1996, most recently holding the position of Head of Global and National, and Head of Latin America. Prior to joining SwissRe he worked at MunichRe for 15 years.

About Marcus Gonzales

Marcus Gonzales joined General Re in 1994 and remained with the group for 15 years. Most recently he held the position of Casualty & Financial Lines Facultative Manager for General Reinsurance, UK Limited.

About Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited

Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage to clients in various domestic and global markets through wholly-owned subsidiaries and offices in Bermuda, France, Ireland, Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. For the six months ended June 30, 2009, Aspen reported gross written premiums of $1.17 billion, net income of $201.8 million and total assets of $8.0 billion. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A” (“Strong”) by Standard & Poor’s, an “A” (“Excellent”) by A.M. Best and an “A2” (“Good”) by Moody’s Investors Service. For more information about Aspen, please visit www.aspen.bm.

Application of the Safe Harbor of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release contains written, and Aspen's officers may make related oral, "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws regarding its appointment of key personnel and its ability to execute its business plan and grow certain lines. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "seek," "will," "estimate," "may," "continue," and similar expressions of a future or forward-looking nature.

All forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions, estimates and data concerning future results and events and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside Aspen's control that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements, including changes in market conditions and their impact on our business. For a detailed description of uncertainties and other factors that could impact the forward-looking statements in this release, please see the "Risk Factors" section in Aspen's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 26, 2009.

Investor Contact:
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited
Noah Fields, Head of Investor Relations, +1 441-297-9382
or
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