General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re), the country’s state-owned reinsurer, has announced that it will begin operations as a Lloyd’s of London syndicate in April 2018, in accordance with a Lloyd’s approved business plan.
The syndicate is to be managed by Pembroke, Liberty Mutual Company’s (LMC) specialist Lloyd’s managing agency, and, according to GIC Re, will be the first Lloyd’s syndicate to be funded exclusively by capital from an Indian reinsurance group.
This announcement follows developments from December 2017, when GIC Re gained ‘in principal’ approval from The Lloyd’s Franchise Board to establish a new syndicate in the Lloyd’s of London market.
The new syndicate, named ‘GIC Syndicate 1947’, has appointed Neil Attwood as its Active Underwriter, and will allow GIC Re to both expand its global reach and benchmark with peers in Lloyd’s.
“Pembroke’s expertise in specialty lines coupled with GIC Re’s underwriting & distribution capability in India & other global markets will further develop business opportunities for GIC Re, Pembroke and other participants in the Lloyd’s market,” GIC Re said in a statement.
GIC Re, which has an A.M. Best rating of A-, was the only reinsurer in the Indian insurance market for four decades. In 2016, the state opened the market to foreign companies.
