One more Lloyd’s Syndicate Volante has received a license from the Indian insurance regulator IRDAI to join the existing Lloyd’s platform in Mumbai while another major reinsurer Berkley Insurance Asia has ventured into the the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC), India’s first International Financial Services Centre(IFSC) after being licensed by the IFSCA
Mumbai/Gandhinagar/GIFT City: Boosting India’s reinsurance capacity, two more global reinsurers- Volante, one Lloyd’s Syndicate and and Berkley Insurance Asia have now entered country’s $133 billion insurance market.
While, after almost six years, one more Lloyd’s Syndicate Volante has received a license from Indian insurance regulator IRDAI to join the existing Lloyd’s platform in Mumbai, another major global reinsurer Berkley Insurance Asia has ventured into the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, International Financial Services Centre (GIFT IFSC), India’s first International Financial Services Centre(IFSC) after being licensed by the IFSCA, a unified regulator for international financial services with a mandate to develop and promote India as a global financial hub.
Both the international players have received their licenses last week.
Volante, backed by Lloyd’s Syndicate 1699, will join Markel, another Lloyd’s Syndicate , that has been operating in the country for the last five years.
Lloyd’s has now two Syndicates in India, competing with state owned GIC Re and 11 foreign reinsurance branches(FRBs), set up by major global reinsurers including Munich Re, Swiss Re, Hannover Re, SCOR, Gen Re, a Warren Buffet company.
All FRBs including Lloyd’s have mobilised a total premium premium of over Rs 24,200 crores (around US $3 billion) in both non-life and life business in FY 24.
The Indian reinsurance market, with a size of Rs 90,000 crore(over $11 billion) in FY 24, is growing at 10 per cent to 12 per cent and expected to exceed Rs one trillion(over $12 billion) in FY 2025.
Volante, headed by Bobby Swarup in India, is a multi-class, managing general agent( MGA) and Lloyd’s Syndicate managed by Asta Managing Agency Ltd, delivering niche, specialist re/insurance products .
Its product portfolios include Treaty Property, Casualty, Motor and Marine Speciality facultative reinsurance on Property, Power, Downstream energy, construction, Casualty, Marine (Cargo, Hull, Yacht, Specie), and upstream energy
The IFSCA has granted its third license to Berkley Insurance Asia, after Allianz Partners and AXA in the last two years.
The IFSCA, which is aiming to develop GIFT IFSC a global Re/insurance Hub with its principle based approach for product designing, pricing and filling, has currently 16 IFSC Insurance Offices (IIOs) and 25 IFSC Insurance Intermediary Offices (IIIOs), taking the total count of registered insurance entities to 41. All the 16 IIOs are also well-diversified between life, non-life, health and re-insurers, said K Rajaraman, chairman, IFSCA.
The reinsurers located in the GIFT-IFSC can provide reinsurance support both to IIOs which are based within the IFSC, a special economy zone for financial services, and direct Indian insurers, spread all over the country.
They can also provide reinsurance and retro support(reinsurers buying insurance covers) to insurers and reinsurers based outside India.
In FY 24, 16 IIOs have recorded a premium of $149 million while 25 IFSC Insurance Intermediary Offices (IIIOs) have transacted a total premium of $276 million during he period.
Though, one of the outfits of French major AXA was the first one to receive a license to do business in the GIFT City, it never started its operations till now and is keen to exit Indian markets.