Re/insurance broker Lockton has launched a new Food & Agribusiness Practice across the Asia-Pacific region, and has hired Stephane Baldanoff to lead it as Regional Director.
As head of the Food & Agribusiness team, Baldanoff will leverage Lockton’s experience in these industries and expand the group’s existing capabilities in Asia-Pacific.
He will also be charged with developing agricultural reinsurance business in the region by offering tailored agri-risk consulting, analytical services and coverage solutions for the livestock, aquaculture, forestry and crops segments.
Baldanoff has almost 30 years of insurance broking experience and joins Lockton from Jardine Lloyd Thomson’s (JLT), where he served as Managing Director of its Food and Agribusiness Practice in Asia for the past 9 years.
Agriculture insurance is a fast-growing segment, particularly in Asia, which accounts for two thirds of the world’s population and an estimated 420 million farms.
Lockton noted that the region has seen many advances in agricultural production in recent years, such as the emergence of the mega-farms, which present a wide range of new challenges for traditional agricultural insurers in terms of risk profile and capacity.
Additionally, over the past decade, the region’s food production industry has seen increasing disruption as a result of natural catastrophes including seasonal typhoons, cyclones and outbreaks of endemic diseases.
Lockton plans to develop insurance products to cover farmers and agribusinesses against these kinds of losses, helping them to restart operations and quickly recover from an interruption.
“I am delighted that Stephane will head up Lockton’s Food & Agribusiness practice as it launches in APAC,” said Warren Merritt, CEO of Lockton Asia.
“With his extensive experience and deep rooted relationships in the region, he will provide an added level of technical support and work alongside regional teams to provide new and innovative coverage solutions,” Merritt continued.
“The region has some of the largest food and agribusiness insurance and reinsurance programmes in the world and these continue to grow and evolve.
“The opportunity to leverage Lockton’s existing experience and access to technology and resources is ripe for the picking. We look forward to seeing Lockton Asia’s business platform strengthen through further hires and expansion into new specialty areas.”
