Thierry Derez, Chairman and CEO of Covéa, said: “This acquisition project comes at a time when the insurance sector is undergoing fundamental transformation, with emergence of new risks and new lifestyles, and increasing new participants entering insurance markets. It perfectly fits our growth strategy, our ability to adapt, the necessary complementarity of expertises and the importance of risks mutualization on a global basis. It would consolidate the future of PartnerRe and our mutual Group, serving the interests of our members and clients, as well as of our employees and partners.”

He started his professional career at Merrill Lynch in 1987, where he held various positions in the areas of equity derivatives and capital markets before he became Co-Head of Global Equity Markets and a member of the Executive Management Committee for Global Markets & Investment Banking in 2001. Sergio P. Ermotti, a Swiss citizen, is a Swiss-certified banking expert and a graduate of the Advanced Management Programme at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Matthew Greaves, Underwriter, Atrium, said:“There is a growing demand for insurance that can protect cryptocurrency as it becomes increasingly popular. It is a testament to Lloyd’s that the market has put together an innovative solution to mitigate these new risks and protect against theft – from physical as well as online vaults – thereby providing customers with piece of mind that their assets are safe.”