London/Dubai, 2 December 2024 – Africa Specialty Risks (“ASR”), the pan-African and Middle East focused reinsurance group, announces that ASR Middle East has commenced operating as a Lloyd’s service company, allowing it to underwrite business in Dubai on behalf of ASR Syndicate 2454, the first African focused syndicate at Lloyd’s.
ASR Middle East has an appetite for MEA business produced in the region and will also service Middle Eastern interests in Africa.
Zouheb Azam, Senior Executive Officer of ASR in Dubai commented: “Utilising ASR Syndicate 2454’s capacity from Dubai is a significant step for ASR to service the insurance industry in both the Middle East and Africa from the DIFC.”
Syndicate 2454 began writing business at Lloyd’s in April 2024, with plans to write circa £70 million of gross premium in 2024, focusing on underwriting ASR’s existing lines of business. It is the first Lloyd’s syndicate to be focused on writing African business, which currently only represents 2% of all Lloyd’s business.
Earlier this year, ASR opened an office within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the leading global financial hub in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (MEASA) region. ASR Middle East solidified ties in the UAE and wider region, where the Group has been writing business since February 2022. The Dubai office adds to ASR’s established presence in London, Mauritius, Bermuda and Morocco.
Alongside it’s Lloyd’s paper, ASR Middle East provides a comprehensive suite of corporate and specialty covers across all of its business lines, supporting corporates and investors operating in the region. The company’s ability to write on its own Lloyd’s paper in Dubai further enhances its capability to deploy specialist capacity and reduce the insurance gap.
Amit Khilosia, Chief Distribution Officer of ASR, commented: “This announcement represents yet another incredibly important milestone for us. It enhances our distribution bandwidth and with a local approach to underwriting in Dubai it will significantly broaden our reach by providing direct, efficient access to our products and blended capacities to clients.”
Mikir Shah, CEO of ASR, commented: “It is incredibly exciting for us that ASR Syndicate 2454 is now able to offer Lloyd’s solutions and robust security through our Lloyd’s service company in Dubai. We have built up an exceptionally strong team of underwriters in London and Dubai, and this milestone enables us to better serve all of our clients, increasing the amount of specialist capacity that is available in the region.”
Andrew Woodward, Lloyd’s Regional Head for Middle East and Turkey, commented: “Lloyd’s Dubai is delighted to welcome Africa Specialty Risks to the DIFC. Their expertise and unique access to the African market will add strength to our regional offering by enhancing risk mitigation solutions available for local and global businesses.”
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Media Enquiries
Africa Specialty Risks
Mikir Shah, CEO
Martin Boreham, Active Underwriter, ASR Syndicate 2454
Zouheb Azam, SEO Dubai
Via Tavistock
Tavistock Communications Ltd
Katie Hopkins
asr@tavistock.co.uk
About ASR
Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) provides comprehensive risk mitigating solutions through high quality underwriting to local and global customers across Africa and the Middle East, with operations in London, Mauritius, Bermuda, Morocco. Since its launch, ASR participated in the de-risking of $28 bn of projects and assets across 66 countries.
In addition to our Bermuda and Mauritius reinsurers, ASR’s unique co-reinsurance model involves collaborating with local and international (re)insurance companies. In 2024, ASR launched Syndicate 2454, it is the first African focused syndicate writing business at Lloyd’s.
Across the group, ASR underwrites across Political Risk, Trade Credit, Political Violence & Terrorism, Property, Energy, Construction, Liability, Parametric and Treaty. ASR also offers an end-to-end captive solution to corporate and financial institutions.
ASR is backed by Helios Investment Partners’ Fund IV and benefits from their extensive reach across Africa, as well as their knowledge and experience in our key markets.