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A.M. Best Affirms Rating of Aspen Insurance Limited and Aspen Insurance UK Limited with Stable Outlook

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^{Published in Business and Finance on Monday, December 22nd 2008 at 6:01 GMT, Last Modified on 2008-12-22 06:02:42 by Market Wire}  

HAMILTON, Bermuda--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (NYSE:AHL) today announced that A.M. Best has affirmed the ‘A' financial strength ratings of Aspen's Bermuda subsidiary, Aspen Insurance Limited and its UK subsidiary, Aspen Insurance UK Limited. A.M. Best also assigned a ‘stable' outlook to the ratings of each subsidiary.

According to A.M. Best, the ratings reflect the excellent consolidated risk-adjusted capitalization of the Aspen group, anticipated full year performance by both the Bermuda and UK companies for 2008, anticipation of good underwriting performance (notwithstanding the impact of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike), the group's conservative investment strategy, and its well diversified business model.

Richard Houghton, Chief Financial Officer of Aspen said, "I am very pleased that A.M. Best continues to recognize the strength and value of Aspen's balance sheet and strategy with ‘A' ratings."

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, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Switzerland. For the year ended December 31, 2007, Aspen reported gross written premiums of $1.8 billion, net income of $489.0 million and total assets of $7.2 billion. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, Aspen reported gross written premiums of $1,566.3 million, net income of $82.0 million and total assets of $7.3 billion. 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 capital management plans, its outlook and financial results. 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, 2007, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2008.