GIC Re gets 'in principle' approval for Lloyd's syndicate

General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC Re) has got 'in principle' approval to create a new syndicate from Lloyd's Franchise Board.
The syndicate will enable GIC Re to broaden and diversify the group's international portfolio, a release issued here said.
GIC Re has partnered with Ironshore's Pembroke Managing Agency (Pembroke) to establish and manage the syndicate.
Pembroke, a Liberty Mutual company, is a specialist provider of Lloyd's, managing agency services to third parties and has a proven track record of guiding new entrants through the Lloyd's approval process.
Lloyd's is the pre-eminent reinsurance market in the world with access to speciality risks that complement GIC Re's existing lines of business.

The combination of Pembroke's speciality lines underwriting capability and GIC Re's regional expertise will create mutually beneficial development opportunities for GIC Re, Pembroke and other participants in the Lloyd's market, the statement said.

GIC Re, which issued its first tranche of IPO shares in October 2017, has an established footprint in the Afro-Asian region, where it's been operating for 45 years.
"The syndicate formation marks an inflexion point in our corporate history through provision of global business access in collaboration with a globally respected brand and will help us broaden diversification and leverage deployment of capital resources," GIC Re Chairman and Managing Director Alice Vaidyan said.

Due to the significant growth of the Indian reinsurance market, GIC Re portfolio has become more India-centric over the past few years, she said.
"The Lloyd's platform will help us access quality international business and provide us with enhanced balance and diversity," she added.
Pembroke Managing Agency Strategic Partnership Director Chris Brown said, "GIC Re will be the first syndicate of its kind backed solely by aligned capital from an Indian reinsurance group.