Castelnau Group Regulatory News (CGL)

9 Mar 2006 16:03

Catlin Group Limited09 March 2006 9 March 2006 CATLIN GROUP LIMITED APPOINTS RICHARD BANAS AS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CATLIN US HAMILTON, Bermuda - Catlin Group Limited ('CGL': London Stock Exchange), theinternational property and casualty insurer and reinsurer, announces theappointment of Richard Banas as president and chief executive officer of CatlinInc, the Group's US subsidiary. Rich Banas will be responsible for the operations of Catlin Insurance CompanyInc, which upon regulatory approval will become the Group's fourth underwritingplatform. The company, which will be domiciled in Texas, will write specialtyclasses of property/casualty insurance for US policyholders which requirecoverage on an admitted basis. Catlin currently underwrites US business on anon-admitted basis (surplus lines, excess, exempt and reinsurance). Catlin last year reached an agreement to acquire a shell property/casualtyinsurance company, which will be renamed Catlin Insurance Company Inc., subjectto regulatory approvals and the completion of the acquisition, both of which areexpected shortly. Once operational, the company will underwrite specialtyclasses of business consistent with the classes in which the Group alreadyspecialises,. Stephen Catlin, chief executive of Catlin Group Limited, said: "I am delighted to welcome Rich Banas to Catlin. The creation of Catlin US offers Catlin tremendous underwriting opportunities in the world's largest insurance market. Rich's background and experience in specialty insurance underwriting makes him the ideal person to lead the establishment of Catlin US as a leading admitted specialty insurer." Richard Banas has held several executive positions with insurers in the UnitedStates. He most recently was executive vice president and chief underwritingofficer of XL Professional Lines. He previously served as chief underwritingofficer for XL's global insurance operations. He has also served as a Managing Director of One Beacon Insurance Group and assenior vice president and chief insurance operating officer at CGU - NorthAmerica. He held various underwriting and business development responsibilitiesat St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, where he worked for more than 20years. Catlin currently operates three underwriting platforms: • The Catlin Syndicate at Lloyd's of London (Syndicate 2003), which is one of the ten largest syndicates at Lloyd's based on 2006 premium capacity of £450 million. It is a recognised leader of numerous classes of specialty insurance and reinsurance. • Catlin Bermuda (Catlin Insurance Company Ltd.), which underwrites property treaty and casualty treaty reinsurance and property and casualty insurance. • Catlin UK (Catlin Insurance Company (UK) Ltd.), which specialises in underwriting commercial property, general liability, professional indemnity, directors' and officers' liability and commercial crime insurance for UK clients. It also writes other classes of business written by the Catlin Syndicate. Besides its offices in London and Bermuda, Catlin also operates offices aroundthe world which allow Catlin underwriters to work more closely with localpolicyholders and brokers. The offices are located in the United States(Houston, New Orleans and San Francisco), Canada (Toronto), Australia (Sydney),Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Germany (Cologne), Belgium (Antwerp) andGuernsey. Catlin UK has regional offices in Glasgow, Leeds, Derby, Birminghamand Watford. - ends - For more information contact: Media Relations:James Burcke, Head of Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7458 5710 Mobile: +44 (0)7958 767 738 E-mail: james.burcke@catlin.com Liz Morley, The Maitland Consultancy Tel: +44 (0)20 7379 5151 E-mail: emorley@maitland.co.uk Investor Relations:William Spurgin, Head of InvestorRelations Tel: +44 (0)20 7458 5726 Mobile: +44 (0)7710 314 365 E-mail: william.spurgin@catlin.com Notes to editors: 1. The Catlin Group, headquartered in Bermuda, is an internationalspecialist property/casualty insurer and reinsurer writing more than 30 classesof business worldwide. Catlin wrote gross premiums of $1.4 billion in 2005.Catlin shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: CGL). 2. All three Catlin underwriting platforms have a financial strengthrating of 'A' (Excellent) from A.M. Best Company. 3. 'Catlin US' refers to the various components of the Catlin Group's US operations. 4. More information about Catlin can be found on the Group'swebsite: www.catlin.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange