GIC Re to open China branch in 2-3 months

National reinsurer GIC Re will start operations in China within the next two-three months as it eyes a place among the top 10 global reinsurers.
"We will be opening our branch office in China within the next 2-3 months," Alice Vaidyan , the newly appointed chairperson and managing director of GIC Re, told reporters on the sidelines of an insurance summit here today.
India's sole reinsurer is currently placed 14th in global rankings.
Earlier, Vaidyan had told PTI she wants to make GIC Re figure among the top 10 global reinsurers.
The company is also planning to set up a Protection and Indemnity (P&I) Club in association with all the four state-run general insurers in the country.

"We have plans to set up a P&I Club here in association with all the four state-run non-life insurance companies. The idea is to provide insurance cover to shipping companies in the country," she said.

P&I Clubs are formed globally to protect their members against large marine insurance claims which would be difficult to handle individually.
GIC Re has dropped its plan to acquire a company in UK, Vaidyan said.
"Though we have dropped our plan to acquire a company at Lloyd's market in London, we will be developing our own syndicate over there in future," she added.