London:
Today, Africa Specialty Risks (ASR), the newly launched Pan-African focused reinsurance group, has secured additional multi-year binder capacity of up to $25 million per risk through a partnership with India's GIC Re and annual capacity from Hong Kong based Peak Re.
This has been supported and completed with the help of Aon and to support its business across the continent, ASR has established a fully licenced reinsurer in Mauritius.
ASR,operating as a Managing General Agent(MGA) sourcing world leading capacity for African insurance and reinsurance risk,
can now offer capacity across lines of business including- Property,Political Risk,Trade Credit,Energy
In the near future, ASR will be expanding its current line up to include Political Violence and Terrorism, Liability, Construction, and Parametric covers for its clients.
Mikir Shah, CEO of ASR commented: “We will endeavour to support insureds during the economic downturn by providing adequate cover, and through proficient client service, we will look to form strong, long-term relationships. Securing additional capacity could not come at a more meaningful time for ASR. Following our launch mid-Pandemic in September 2020, we have seen a reduction in available capacity as traditional underwriters withdraw from emerging markets to focus on their more developed domestic markets.
“Securing this capacity through our strong international partners is a testament to our robust business plan which will provide long-term security. At ASR we will focus on portfolio resilience which will form our core strength, and diversification to cater for a wide range of business lines cementing our commitment to the African markets,” he said.
Souleymane Ba, a Partner at Helios, said: “ASR has been established to supply specialist expertise and address the capacity gap present in Africa by providing customer-focused risk mitigation products. We are delighted that ASR has secured further risk capacity to support the African markets. Private equity has a long and successful track record of stepping up to fill unmet insurance capacity, allowing it to de-risk and support investment activity. We are very pleased to be backing ASR on its journey.”
ASR was launched by Helios Investment Partners, LLP (“Helios”) in partnership with Mikir Shah, former CEO of AXA Africa Specialty Risks and Bryan Howett, former CEO of Old Mutual’s pan-African reinsurance operations.
ASR provides comprehensive, risk transfer solutions through high quality underwriting to local and global customers across the African continent; giving them the confidence to grow their businesses sustainably. It intends to create a dynamic and versatile business of scale, deploying an innovative, forward thinking strategy to capture a portion of this growing market
ASR accesses its binders out of its underwriting centre in London, and is supported by its operations in Mauritius, highlighting that local capacity is at the core of the company’s mission. ASR’s team of underwriters will work across key territories in Africa, delivering their expertise at a local level.
ASR is funded through Helios Investors IV, L.P., whose investors include Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) and International Finance Corporation (IFC), and marks the fund’s second investment this year. They have committed capital to fund ASR’s growth and expansion plans.