Aspen Appoints Rupert Villers To Lead Combined Financial And Professional Lines Insurance Business Segment

Hamilton, Bermuda - 16 March, 2009 - Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited (Aspen) (NYSE: AHL) today announced that it has appointed Rupert Villers, effective 27 April, 2009 as head of its newly combined Financial and Professional Lines Insurance business segment.  Mr. Villers will be based in London and will report directly to Aspen's Chief Executive Officer Chris O'Kane.  In conjunction with Mr. Villers' appointment, Aspen has combined its Financial Institutions, Professional Lines, and Management and Technology Liability Insurance underwriting units into a new business segment to harness the Company's expertise and capture growth opportunities in those lines.  

Mr. O'Kane commented: "We are delighted to welcome Rupert to Aspen.  He is an outstanding insurance executive who brings to Aspen deep and broad experience in the insurance industry managing financial and professional lines and we are confident we can benefit from his expertise." 

Mr. O'Kane continued: "Insurance is becoming a larger part of Aspen's overall business and we are well-positioned to benefit from the improved market environment we anticipate both this year and in 2010.  Considerable growth opportunities exist throughout insurance, particularly in lines such as financial and professional, marine and energy liability and excess casualty, aviation and other specialty lines, where prices are stabilizing and in many instances hardening.  Our appointment of Rupert affirms our commitment to attract top quality talent and to pursue disciplined growth where we see the greatest opportunity."

Rupert has held a number of positions in the insurance industry. He co-founded SVB Holdings (subsequently renamed Novae Holdings), and in his seventeen years there he was Chief Executive Officer for 11 years and underwriter of Syndicate 1007 for three.  Under his leadership, SVB grew its managed premium capacity from £77 million to £474 million, established itself as a major insurer in the London financial and professional lines market and successfully listed on the London Stock Exchange.  Most recently, he has been Chairman of APJ Continuation Ltd, a company he co-founded in 2005, whose major subsidiary, APJ (Asset Protection Jersey Limited) writes a specialist book of kidnap and ransom insurance.  

Mr. Villers said: "I am excited to be joining Aspen, a company and management team I have long admired.  I look forward to working with Chris and my new colleagues and contributing to Aspen's growth in insurance."      

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, and Switzerland. For the twelve months ended 31 December, 2008, Aspen reported gross written premiums of $2.0 billion, net income of $103.8 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 appointment of key personnel and its ability to execute its business plan and grow certain lines. 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 31 December, 2008, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on 26 February, 2009.

Investor Contact:
Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited

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