Lloyd’s has officially launched its new specialist underwriting platform in Dubai to provide tailored risk solutions across the Middle East.
This brings the number of Lloyd’s businesses trading in the Dubai International Financial Centre to nine – Amlin, Argo Re, Beazley, Catlin, Liberty, Markel, Talbot, Visionary, and Watkins – seven of which will be operating from the new Lloyd’s platform in the DIFC.
The opening of the MENA regional office is part of Lloyd’s Vision 2025 plan, which involves increasing the business from emerging markets, as well as attracting both financial and intellectual capital into the market.
A “must do” approach
Speaking at MultaQa Qatar 2015 last month, CEO Inga Beale said that there are vast opportunities for Lloyd’s to grow its business globally, develop innovative products and strengthen its position in the market.
“However, this is not a ‘nice to do’. It’s a ‘must do’, an approach we must take if we are to survive and prosper. How we take advantage of these opportunities is at the heart of Lloyd’s vision,” she said. “Organisations do not survive by being rigid and traditional. Lloyd’s is adapting positively to change.”
“If Lloyd’s is going to grow in different economies, our market needs people who speak the language. The establishment of a Lloyd’s platform in Dubai is another great example of how we are delivering on our objectives,” she said.
According to Ms Beale, the region faces complex risks which require innovative and flexible solutions, something Lloyd’s is renowned for. Two of these issues are renewable energy and cyber.
Lloyd’s and takaful
She added that the Lloyd’s syndicate structure has many similarities with the takaful model, that the Lloyd’s market is “equipped to provide Shariah-compliant insurance and reinsurance”.
“Our unique market structure makes Shariah compliance possible. For instance, we can accommodate fund separation,” she said.
Mr Cameron Murray, Lloyd’s Head of UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa, said in a recent interview that the goal for the DIFC office is two-fold: to deliver practical benefits for Lloyd’s businesses on the ground in Dubai, while promoting the brand and expertise more generally across the region and helping to develop Lloyd’s coverholder and broker-driven business destined for London.