Allied World Grows Its Environmental Team

PEMBROKE, Bermuda, April 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd (NYSE: AWH) announced today several strategic new hires to expand its growing Environmental Department. Ken Cornell, Senior Vice President, Environmental, started the division in October 2009 to build out the team and its product capabilities.

As Senior Vice President, Mr. Cornell oversees the division's business strategy including the development of all environmental insurance products. Prior to joining Allied World, he was Executive Vice President for JCH Environmental Insurance Brokers (JCH), a division of Crump Insurance Services Inc. Prior to JCH, Mr. Cornell was Executive Vice President for AIG Environmental. He has over 25 years of experience in the environmental insurance industry.

Mr. Cornell commented, "Allied World has been rapidly expanding our U.S. insurance franchise. The Environmental Division will add environmental product and underwriting expertise into industry segments where Allied World is already well known -- Healthcare, Construction, Public Entity and Real Estate as well as other segments where our brokers and clients desire environmental coverage."

Michele Bernstein joined the company as Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Environmental and will handle all legal matters affecting the unit. She has worked in the insurance industry for 17 years. Prior to Allied World, Ms. Bernstein worked for ACE and provided legal advice to ACE Risk Management. Before ACE, she was at AIG for 13 years providing legal advice to AIG Environmental, AIG Risk Management, healthcare, and reinsurance.

Barry Gerstein joined the company as Director, Environmental Claims. He has over 20 years of experience in handling environmental claims and has worked in the environmental claims departments at both AIG and Quanta U.S. Holdings in a management capacity.

Eunice Halstead has joined the team as Assistant Vice President. She will have national underwriting responsibility for the primary environmental policy as well as umbrella and auto for the environmental division. Ms. Halstead has over 16 years of experience in the insurance industry and was most recently, Vice President and Product Line Officer for the Underwriting Resource Division in New York at AIG.  She has over eight years of specific Environmental insurance experience, both in the Pollution Liability area and in the Environmental Casualty area. Ms. Halstead holds the professional designations of Certified Insurance Counselor and Certified Risk Manager.

Christina Jackson has joined the team as Underwriting Manager. Ms. Jackson is based in the Los Angeles office and will be responsible for growing the book of business for the Western region. Prior to joining

Allied World, Ms. Jackson was Senior Underwriter in the Environmental department at ACE USA.

Arthur Lu has joined the team as Vice President. He will develop and manage product lines and regional underwriting operations, maintain and ensure profitability and assist with overall business policy. Mr. Lu has 12 years of experience in the environmental insurance industry including: four years at Chartis in the MEMSA region, as Regional Environmental Profit Center Manager, based in Dubai, and at Chartis International, as Environmental Underwriting Manager, based in New York. He also spent eight years at AIG Environmental, as a Senior Underwriter, based in Los Angeles.

Bobby Bowden, Executive Vice President for Business Development, Marketing and U.S. Branch Network said, "We have assembled a formidable team thus far, and will continue investing in people and resources to best serve our clients.  Given Ken's extensive industry knowledge, I am confident our environmental insurance business will continue to grow rapidly."

About Allied World Assurance Company

Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd, through its subsidiaries, is a global provider of innovative property, casualty and specialty insurance and reinsurance solutions, offering superior client service through offices in Bermuda, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States. Our insurance and reinsurance subsidiaries are rated A (Excellent) by A.M. Best Company. For further information on Allied World, please visit our website at www.awac.com.

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future events and financial performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the

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SOURCE Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd