Aspen opens its first corporate risk branches

Aspen Insurance has opened the first of its new network of regional branches offering corporate risks insurance.

As tipped by Insurance Times (‘Aspen joins corporate risk race’, 28 October), the company’s regional platform, Aspen Risk Management, has opened offices in Birmingham and Bristol, with a Glasgow office due to open later this month.

Aspen joint chief executive Rupert Villers has previously outlined plans to open a fourth office in Leeds or Manchester.

The new operation, headed by Kevin Pallet and Geoff Crisp – who founded managing general agency Fusion before selling it to Towergate – has recruited a team of 26 so far.

The company said that it anticipates that it will hire more staff as the business develops. The total could reach 50 by the end of this year.

Aspen Risk Management will be offering risk-based solutions for property, casualty and specialty lines to the regions using selected brokers.

Joint chief executive John Cavoores said: “With these types of customers, we can offer added services that maybe the larger carriers don’t offer. Things like loss control services and employee safety services.”

Pallet said that the new platform aimed to “identify and prevent risks before they even occur”.

“We believe that in this respect our model sets us apart from the rest of the market,” he added.