Aspen Starts New Lloyd’s Syndicate

Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited has received approval from Lloyd’s to establish a new Lloyd’s Syndicate. Designated Syndicate 4711 with the pseudonym of “ASP,” it will commence underwriting from early April for business incepting from May 1, 2008.

“Syndicate 4711 is managed by a newly created Lloyd’s managing agency, Aspen Managing Agency Limited (AMAL),” said the bulletin. It is “authorized by the UK’s Financial Services Authority, and is supported by a corporate member, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aspen.”

The active underwriter of Syndicate 4711 is Matthew Yeldham, Head of International Insurance at Aspen. He also retains his existing responsibilities in addition to assuming his new role with Syndicate 4711.

Aspen said: “Syndicate 4711′s business plan for 2008 is to renew certain participations on selected classes of business currently written by its existing UK company, Aspen Insurance UK Limited. These classes include Energy, Hull, Marine Liability, Transportation related Liability, Aviation and certain specialty reinsurance lines.

“In 2008, Aspen plans to write approximately $100 million of its forecast GWP (gross written premiums) in Syndicate 4711. This is not expected to have a material impact on the consolidated GWP, expected to be written by the Company in 2008.”

Aspen also indicated that it believes the “Lloyd’s brand, market positioning and licenses make it a leading specialist insurance market for many of the lines in which Aspen has strong leadership positions.”

CEO Chris O’Kane commented: “Lloyd’s is widely regarded as a leading marketplace for many of the classes of business which we currently underwrite and offers an unrivalled distribution network. The establishment of a presence at Lloyd’s is a key strategic objective for Aspen as it provides a major enhancement to our multi-platform capability as we continue to develop our business.”

Source: Aspen Insurance Holdings – www.aspen.bm