Aspen profits fall thanks to tough market conditions

Difficult market conditions in the reinsurance sector have contributed towards a dip in 2015 profits from Aspen Insurance.

The firm reported a net income of $323.1 million in 2015, compared with $355.8 million in 2014, while its combined ratio increased minimally to 91.9 percent in 2015, compared with 91.7 percent for 2014.

The insurer did report an increase in its gross written premiums however of 3.3 percent to $3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Chris O’Kane, chief executive officer, Aspen, said: “2015 was a year of significant progress across Aspen. We continued to diversify further our reinsurance and insurance operations, expanding both by product and geography.

“Aspen Re had a very successful year in the face of market conditions that remained challenging, delivering an excellent performance, with growth focused on the specialty and other property sub-segments. Our insurance business continued to find opportunities for profitable growth, primarily in the US and select international markets.”

O’Kane also said that Aspen also recently launched its global insurance product lines strategy which he believes will create opportunities to deploy products more widely, increase scale where we choose and bring the firm closer to its brokers and clients.

“Our aim is to deliver consistent, high quality returns across all cycles,” he said. “We also recently announced the acquisition of AgriLogic, a specialist US crop business with an integrated agricultural consultancy, a company we know well and with strong underwriting skills, and deep intellectual capital, technical and risk management expertise.

“As we grow the Aspen business, we remain committed to driving efficiency and consistency across our company to generate increased profitability over the long-term.”