PHILADELPHIA, July 6, 2005 – ACE INA announced today that Bruce L. Kessler has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Underwriting Officer, ACE INA. Based in Philadelphia, Mr. Kessler will be the senior underwriting officer for ACE in the United States and Canada.
Formerly Senior Vice President, Global Reinsurance, ACE Tempest Re USA, Mr. Kessler now will be responsible for all primary property and casualty underwriting activities conducted by ACE USA, the company’s retail brokerage division, and ACE Westchester Specialty Group, the company’s excess and surplus wholesale brokerage division.
"This is an exciting new position that we have created to bring underwriting consistency across all of our business operations in the U.S. and Canada, and we are pleased to have someone with Bruce's proven experience to take on the challenge," said Brian Dowd, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of ACE USA and Chairman of ACE Westchester Specialty. "Bruce will have broad authority over underwriting practices and procedures, underwriting audits and ceded reinsurance decisions."
Mr. Kessler was appointed Senior Vice President of ACE Tempest Re USA, the company's Stamford, Connecticut-based reinsurance company, in 2000. Mr. Kessler started his insurance career more than 25 years ago and has held a number of senior underwriting positions with companies including American Re-Insurance Company, Chartwell Reinsurance Company, NAC Reinsurance Company and General Reinsurance Company.
Mr. Kessler earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Delaware.
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ACE INA is the U.S.-based property and casualty insurance division of the ACE Group of Companies, a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. Headed by ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE), a component of the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, the ACE Group conducts its business on a worldwide basis with operating subsidiaries in approximately 50 countries. Additional information on ACE INA can be found at www.ace-ina.com.