Global specialty insurer Brit, which in the marine sector offers cargo, inland marine, hull, liability and yacht coverage, is to launch a solely names-backed Syndicate 2988. The syndicate plans to begin underwriting business attaching on or after January 1st 2017, subject to completion of the final ‘Making it Happen’ stage of Lloyd’s application framework.
Brit was acquired last year by Fairfax Financial Holdings.
The new syndicate will be managed by Brit Syndicates Limited, Brit’s Lloyd’s managing agent, which also manages Brit’s Lloyd’s Syndicate 2987.
Syndicate 2988 will have a capacity of £52m ($82m) for its first year of trading. Underwriting will be undertaken by Brit’s existing teams and the syndicate will write a balanced global portfolio of insurance and reinsurance across a broad range of specialty lines in which Brit already has established product offerings.
Marine made up 9.1% of Brit’s total business and about 11% of its direct business in 2015, with premiums of $182.1m out of nearly $2bn total. As such the additional $82m will not add significantly to the business managed by Brit Syndicates Ltd.
Matthew Wilson, Brit Group Deputy CEO and Brit Global Specialty CEO, commented: “I am delighted to announce the launch of Syndicate 2988. Brit is the largest business writing solely on the Lloyd’s platform and we believe this focus is a key differentiator for us. Today’s announcement is further evidence of our commitment to this market.”