Australian insurer QBE has expanded its marine offer in Europe, with products now available in Germany as well as France and the Nordics.
While growth in the marine insurance market in Asia appears to be slowing, it has seen a strong performance in Europe, according to the latest statistics from the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI).
Marine premiums increased 8.3% to $35.5bn in 2022 and almost half of this amount (47.7%) originated in Europe. As an international insurer with local presence in 28 countries, QBE wants to be part of the growth opportunity this line of business is offering in the continent, the insurer stated.
To launch the marine product, QBE has been strengthening its underwriting teams in several European countries. It started writing marine in France in October 2022 and in the Nordics in April 2023.
It is now launching in Germany after hiring Lars Habersaat as Marine Underwriter and Philip Specht as Senior Marine Underwriter, both based in QBE’s Hamburg office.
According to the announcement, other European countries are expected to follow in due time, with the Netherlands as a top priority.
The team of underwriters is based across the continent and is led by Tania Bensoussan-Arthur, Marine Practice Lead – Europe, who commented: “QBE has a long-standing marine business and it is very exciting for me to expand and roll out the product line locally into Germany after France and the Nordics.
“Trade routes are changing, cargo risks are evolving and our product aims at supporting the marine sector’s resilience. International trade requires international expertise combined with local knowledge and the European team will deliver this cross-border competence tailored to country-specific needs.”
Andrea Brock, General Manager, QBE Deutschland, added: “We’re delighted to further expand our wide product range in Germany to cover most business risks. While marine is an international business, many customers in that industry are based in one country, where they want to be serviced. They prefer this local approach and that’s what we want to offer them. We hope brokers are as enthusiastic as we are.”
