Chief executive departs amid poor results 

Aspen chief executive Stephen Postlewhite is leaving the business amid results which have ‘deeply disappointed’.

President and chief underwriting officer David Cohen now takes the helm at a time when the business will report an expected $245m (£172.7m) underwriting loss for the fourth quarter of 2017.

Apsen has been hit by the Californian wildfires, amounting to a $135m pre-tax hit, largely in the reinsurance division.

It is also axing London jobs in a cost-cutting drive, as first reported by Insurance Times in October last year. 

Group chief executive Chris O’Kane said:  “David joined Aspen in November 2015. Since his arrival, he has upgraded the underwriting talent in our Insurance segment, is refocusing our underwriting book and is positioning Aspen Insurance for success in the next stage of its development.

“David is a strong and well-respected leader and I am confident that as we move forward, he will drive improvements across our Insurance business.”

Postlewhite’s exit comes amid results which have worried O’Kane.

He said earlier today: “We are deeply disappointed with our financial performance in 2017.

“We have taken a number of actions to improve our underwriting performance and expect to see the impact of these reflected in our 2018 underwriting year results and beyond.” 

The 2025 Insurance Times Awards took place on the evening of Wednesday 3rd December in the iconic Great Room of London’s Grosvenor House.

Hosted by comedian and actor Tom Allen, 34 Gold, 23 Silver and 22 Bronze awards were handed out across an amazing 34 categories recognising brilliance and innovation right across the breadth of UK general insurance.
Many congratulations to all the worthy winners and as always, huge thanks to our sponsors for their support and our judges for their expertise.