Wieczorek joins Aspen

Miroslaw (Mirek) Wieczorek has been appointed senior structured risk underwriter by Aspen Insurance Holdings.

He will be responsible for the underwriting of structured risk transactions, from sourcing the business to developing an appropriate structure, associate risk modelling and liasing with internal and external resources.

Mr. Wieczorek, who will be based in Bermuda, will also be creating, developing and refining structured solutions to complex risk transfer transactions through analytical and creative problem solving using quantitative and qualitative measures.

He reports to Victor Baillargeon, head of structured risk, who said: “We are delighted to welcome Mirek to Aspen Insurance Limited. Mirek’s background advising clients on underwriting and structuring US property and casualty exposures complements our expertise. Mirek is a welcome addition to the structured reinsurance team and the capabilities we can offer our brokers and clients.”

Mr. Wieczorek was formerly with Ernst & Young where, since 2005, he has been providing a broad range of consulting services for a diverse group of insurance and reinsurance clients as a senior manager. Prior to Ernst & Young, he was a senior vice president with ACE Tempest Re, USA.

Heritage licenses AIR

Heritage Underwriting, which has an office in Bermuda, has licensed Boston-based AIR Worldwide Corporation’s catastrophe risk management systems.

AIR’s catastrophe risk modelling systems will allow Heritage to monitor its Caribbean and US exposures with greater accuracy while AIR’s embedded mapping tools and risk hazard profiles will assist Heritage in examining exposures down to a very detailed level.

Heritage will also use AIR Loss Estimates in Real Time (ALERT), to better estimate the risk to their portfolio as actual events unfold.

AIR’s catastrophe risk modelling systems will allow Heritage to monitor its Caribbean and US exposures with greater accuracy, according to Heritage, which is a Lloyd’s of London insurer.

XL declares dividend

XL Capital has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share payable on the company’s ordinary shares.

The dividend will be payable on June 29 to shareholders of record on June 11.

The Board of directors also resolved to pay a dividend of $0.50 per share on July 2, to all series A preference ordinary shareholders of record on June 29.

A dividend of $0.476 will be paid on July 2 to all series B preference ordinary shareholders of record on June 29.

Bank buy back

Butterfield Bank bought back and cancelled 24,039 of its own shares at an average price of $59.21 in April. The total cost was $1.42 million.

Astra earnings jump

Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed PT Astra International Tbk yesterday said first quarter earnings per share rose 21 percent to 315 rupeirah as its wholesale motor car and motorcycle markets grew by six percent and 21 percent, respectively while its Komatsu unit sales increased by 46 percent.

Net income rose 21 percent to 1.275 billion rupeirah from 1.056 billion. Astra, an Indonesian-based transport company, is 50.1 percent owned by Bermuda-based Jardine Cycle & Carriage Ltd.

Fabian buys building

Fabian Romania Property Fund Ltd. is to purchase its fourth office project, the Cubic office development in Bucharest in a transaction valued at 60 million.

The Cubic Centre will be a class A office building with a gross area of approximately 44,000 square metres, located in North Bucharest when it is completed in 2009, said Bermuda Stock Exchange-listed Fabian.New Hibernia delistsThe Bermuda Stock Exchange has announced that New Hibernia Investments Ltd. had voluntarily delisted from the Exchange.