Hong Kong expansion for Ironshore

Ironshore International announced the opening of an office in Hong Kong to build upon the company’s presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Melody Qian has been named general manager, Ironshore Hong Kong Ltd., to lead the initiative.

Ironshore is making a move to claim more of the Asian market and will befocusing on North Asia, China, Japan, and South Korea.

Ms Qian will report to Chen Dai, Head of Asia, Ironshore International, who is based in the company’s Singapore office, which was established in 2012.

“Ironshore has undertaken a consistent, measured approach to the Asian market, which contributed to the success of the Singapore office over the past two years,” said Mr. Dai.

“Opening the Hong Kong office further bolsters Ironshore’s strategic presence in the dynamic Asia-Pacific insurance market.”

Ironshore Hong Kong will underwrite the company’s suite of specialty product lines, as well as provide access to syndicated, consortium capacity through its Lloyd’s Pembroke Managing Agency Ltd., based in London.

Donald Lines steps down

In a filing with the Bermuda Stock Exchange, LOM Funds SAC Ltd. announced changes to the company’s board of directors.

The filing stated: Effective June 25, 2014, Donald Lines did not stand for re-election as a director and that Bryan Dooley was elected as a new director.

Aspen results Aspen Insurance Holdings Limited announced its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2014. Aspen will report final results for the quarter on July 23, 2014.

For the second quarter of 2014 Aspen expects the following results:

• Diluted book value per share at June 30, 2014 between $44.60 and $44.80; up 4.4-4.9% from March 31, 2014;
• Diluted operating earnings per Share between $1.30 and $1.35
• Diluted earnings per share between $1.70 and $1.75;
• Gross written premiums between $775 and $780 million
• Combined ratio between 90.0% and 91.0% or 89.0% to 90.0% excluding bid defence costs;
• Net favourable reserve development equating to between 4.5 and 5.5 combined ratio points;
• Annualized operating return on Equity between 12.0% and 12.8%;
• Annualized net income ROE between 16.0% and 16.8%;