Mario Greco, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global insurer Zurich, has told the Financial Times (FT) that the company is preparing to launch a syndicate at the specialist Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance marketplace, as the carrier awaits a response from its latest proposal to acquire London-headquartered Beazley.
On Monday, Zurich revealed that it had submitted an improved proposal of 1,280 pence in cash per Beazley share to acquire 100% of the specialist insurer, after previous proposals were rejected as the Board felt that those offers significantly undervalued the firm.
Zurich believes that the combination of the two businesses would deliver attractive returns for both of the company’s shareholders, and create a global leader in specialty insurance with around $15 billion of gross written premiums.
Today, the FT has reported that as Zurich continues to pursue Beazley, it is finalising plans for the establishment of its first Lloyd’s syndicate, which CEO Greco told the publication could be live as soon as April 2nd, 2026.
A Lloyd’s syndicate would give Zurich another route into the Lloyd’s market if its latest bid for Beazley is rejected, although the insurer did not confirm to the FT whether it would go ahead with the syndicate launch if the bid is successful.
Specialist insurer Beazley has a strong and established presence at Lloyd’s with numerous syndicates under its managing agency.
According to the FT, citing a person familiar with the matter, Zurich’s syndicate would look to write annual premiums in the hundreds of millions of pounds, while Greco said that it would give the carrier another route to expand its global specialty business.
“You can do deals on the Lloyd’s platform where you access private capital, which is different from capital offered by the reinsurance companies,” Greco told the FT.
