Aspen Insurance to set up cost-cutting drive

Company looking to drive effectiveness but no indication given as to effect on employees

Aspen Insurance to set up cost-cutting drive

Insurance News

By Gabriel Olano

International re/insurance provider Aspen Insurance Holdings has announced a plan to reduce its total expenses by US$160 million over the next three years as it overhauls its efficiency.

The Bermuda-based re/insurer recently reported approximately US$310 million in pre-tax losses after hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria battered North and Central America.

Search and compare insurance products against Financial Loss from specialty market providers here

Aspen said that the cost-cutting programme seeks to “drive greater effectiveness and efficiency across the company and enhance its market position.” It added that optimising work processes and improving efficiency of operations will help increase the company’s savings.

The company has not announced whether the programme will impact any jobs.

Aspen expects savings of US$30 million, US$55 million, and US$75 million in 2018, 2019, and 2020. In the following years, run-rate savings are expected to be around US$80 million per year.

In 2018 and 2019, Aspen expects pre-tax expenses of US$95 million in order to implement the cost-cutting efforts.

“The planned actions are highly achievable and will enable our underwriters to focus more of their time on client- and broker-facing activities rather than on routine and duplicative tasks,” said Chris O’Kane, Aspen’s chief executive officer.

“The majority of the expected savings will benefit our insurance segment where we continue to build on the business line assessment we conducted in 2016 and the drive to improve profitability.

“As a result of this programme, we believe Aspen will be a more nimble organisation with faster decision-making ability, a competitive expense ratio and the ability to serve our clients even better than we do today.”

Aside from its headquarters in Bermuda, Aspen has operations in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, and the US.


Related stories:
Aspen reveals hurricane loss total as Irma claims hit US$5 billion
Lloyd’s updates hurricane claims estimates

Keep up with the latest news and events

Join our mailing list, it’s free!