Crum & Forster Acquires Aspen’s Food and Beverage Product Recall Business

Specialty insurer Crum & Forster (C&F) has acquired the renewal rights of Aspen’s U.S. food and beverage product recall insurance portfolio written primarily through the excess and surplus lines market.

The company said the Aspen underwriting team servicing this portfolio, led by Nicky Alexandru, has joined C&F.

The transaction adds to C&F’s 10-year history of offering product recall insurance products in its Crisis Management division, according to Steve Fomchenko, division president at C&F. “Our combined teams’ experience further solidifies C&F’s focus on this product line and will help ensure a smooth renewal for clients during the transition,” he said.

Henry MacHale, portfolio director for First Party & Specialty at Aspen Insurance, said that as his company exits the product recall space, it will continue to offer other Crisis Management products from its U.K. entities. He said the product recall business has contributed to positive underwriting results since 2016.

Aspen has been reviewing its portfolio and streamlining its operations. In the summer, Aspen sold its surety operations to Amynta Group. As part of that transaction, Amynta said it would partner with Crum & Forster to provide the underwriting capacity for the business and assume Aspen’s in-force surety portfolio.

Last November, Arch Reinsurance said it would buy Aspen Reinsurance’s global credit and surety reinsurance business after Aspen Re decided to exit the line.

In January, TRISTAR Insurance Group agreed to acquire Aspen Risk Management Group.

Crum & Forster provides specialty property/casualty insurance products through its admitted and surplus lines insurance companies. Crum & Forster had $2.8 billion in gross written premium in 2019.

Aspen provides reinsurance and insurance coverage in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the year 2019, Aspen reported $3.4 billion in gross written premiums.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Excess Surplus Reinsurance