Africa Specialty Risks (ASR), the pan-African and Middle East focused (re)insurance group, announces that Africa Specialty Risks Ltd (ASR Ltd), ASR’s UK based entity is operating as a Lloyd's service company, underwriting on behalf of ASR Syndicate 2454. This development enhances ASR’s distribution network, providing brokers in Africa and the Middle East better and more efficient access to the Lloyd's market through its service company.

ASR Ltd is now able to write up to USD $10 million per risk across its Political Violence and Terrorism, Energy, Construction, Property, and Liability lines of business, with additional lines to be added, subject to necessary approvals.

Supporting ASR’s core values and strategic goal of boosting developing markets’ domestic capacity, this development enables ASR to leverage Lloyd’s global brand and licences to close the capacity gap across Africa. It also complements ASR’s existing partnerships with other international and local African reinsurers, assisting ASR’s partners in retaining risk effectively, while enhancing Lloyd’s existing footprint in and across the continent.

Martin Boreham is the Active Underwriter of Syndicate 2454 and a Director of Underwriting at ASR, ASR Syndicate 2454 was set up to increase high quality capacity for the African market, with the initial aim to write gross premium of approximately £70 million for 2024.

Mikir Shah, CEO of ASR, commented: “This is another milestone in helping us achieve our objective of closing the insurance gap in Africa, providing access to local African brokers and enabling us to better distribute our Lloyd’s capacity on the continent, while maintaining the highest standards of service and reliability.”     

Martin Boreham, Active Underwriter of Syndicate 2454 and Director of Underwriting at ASR, commented: “We have an exceptional team of underwriters in London and this development will allow ASR Syndicate 2454 to leverage the market presence of Africa Specialty Risks and its distribution network. This agreement provides African brokers access to the A+ paper of Lloyd’s and is a step towards our ambition of being the go-to Lloyd’s market for the continent.”

Amit Khilosia, Regional Head of Africa, Lloyd’s, commented: “This announcement represents another incredibly important milestone for Africa Specialty Risks and the Lloyd’s ecosystem. This development will significantly improve market access, providing a more efficient route to our clients, and further galvanising our market in London as the go-to place for African risks.”