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Aspen closes property insurance unit in Bermuda

Posted On: Feb. 20, 2018 10:39 AM CST

Aspen closes property insurance unit in Bermuda

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. closed its Bermuda-based U.S. property insurance unit last week as a result of catastrophe loss activity during 2017, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.

The spokeswoman said Aspen has been looking to reduce volatility in its global insurance business, which she said group CEO Chris O’Kane discussed during the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Feb. 7. Aspen reported a net loss of $184.9 million for the quarter.

The property insurance unit was headed by Natasha Pethick, and included Stephanie Law, who has left the company, and underwriting assistant Allison Bassett. Ms. Pethick and Ms. Bassett will be staying on for a while “to ensure a smooth transition.”

The Aspen Bermuda office still maintains a wide range of insurance business, the spokeswoman said, including global casualty and financial and professional lines of business, as well as reinsurance. She said the “Bermuda announcement relates to a very small unit within our insurance segment, and nothing else was affected for either our insurance or reinsurance businesses.”