Russia’s state-owned reinsurer, Russian National Reinsurance Company (RNRC), has announced that it’s received approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to operate as a cross-border reinsurance company.
Initially, the reinsurer was mainly established to offer reinsurance protection to companies barred from using Western reinsurers as part of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, but the firm does also look to work with players not impacted by sanctions.
The company began operations in January, 2017, and has already been registered in China and Egypt as a reinsurer, now announcing that it has received approval to operate in the Indian marketplace.
Commenting on the firm’s entry into India, Vice President Michael Sepp, said: “This is timely for RNRC business. The main volume of treaty renewals in the Indian market falls on April 1, which coincides with the beginning of the financial year in India. The registration gives us the opportunity to accept treaty and facultative reinsurance from Indian insurers and brokers in line with our development strategy on the international market.”
In recent times, India has relaxed protectionist measures surrounding its reinsurance market, and in response a number of international insurers and reinsurers have established branches in the region, with RNRC being the latest.
The Russian state-backed player also announced last year that the Russian Central Bank’s Board of Directors approved the granting of a financial guarantee of RUB 49.7 billion (US $860 million), enabling the reinsurer to increase its retention and assume a larger share of risks.
