PEMBROKE, Bermuda, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allied World Reinsurance Company, a member company of Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd (NYSE: AWH), announced today that Ed Brehm has been appointed Senior Vice President and Professional Liability Product Line Leader in New York.

John Bender, Chief Operating Officer of Allied World Re, commented, 'We are enthusiastic about having Ed join our reinsurance team. We believe Allied World Re will benefit greatly from his experience and industry knowledge as we continue to build our U.S. reinsurance platform and strengthen our cedent and broker relationships.'

In his role with Allied World Re, Mr. Brehm will oversee professional liability reinsurance lines for all U.S. accounts. His responsibilities include portfolio management, ensuring underwriting quality and further developing the reinsurance company's professional liability lines strategy. Mr. Brehm will report to Thomas Kelly, Chief Underwriting Officer of Allied World Re.

Prior to his position with Allied World Re, Mr. Brehm was Senior Vice President for Swiss Re, specializing in professional liability reinsurance from January 2004 to June 2009. Prior to this position, Mr. Brehm worked for 25 years at PMA Capital in a variety of roles including the management of the specialty department.

Mr. Brehm earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University, and holds the CPCU and AU designations.

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, the United States, Europe and Hong Kong. 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.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Any forward-looking statements made in this press release reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. For example, our forward-looking statements could be affected by the ability to recognize the benefits of the Darwin Professional Underwriters, Inc. acquisition; pricing and policy term trends; increased competition; the impact of acts of terrorism and acts of war; greater frequency or severity of unpredictable catastrophic events; investigations of market practices and related settlement terms; negative rating agency actions; the adequacy of our loss reserves; the company or its subsidiaries becoming subject to significant income taxes in the United States or elsewhere; changes in regulations or tax laws; changes in the availability, cost or quality of reinsurance or retrocessional coverage; adverse general economic conditions including those related to the ongoing financial crisis; and judicial, legislative, political and other governmental developments, as well as management's response to these factors, and other factors identified in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We are under no obligation (and expressly disclaim any such obligation) to update or revise any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

SOURCE Allied World Assurance Company Holdings, Ltd