Greenlight Re considers Lloyd’s syndicate as it targets specialty lines

Greenlight Re is considering setting up a Lloyd’s syndicate as a strategic option as the Cayman Islands-based re/insurer targets specialty lines.

“It’s certainly being discussed,” Greenlight Re CEO Simon Burton said during the fourth quarter 2017 results conference call.

“It is one of a long list of strategic directions that we may consider in the future,” Burton added.

Greenlight Re has started to underwrite specialty business. The 2017 nat cat events created an uptick in rates but more importantly, it created a bit of room as some players rebalanced a bit and revisited their appetites, Burton noted. While a lot of specialty classes have remained stagnant over the last few years, there was a bit of jostling during January renewals.

“That played well for us,” Burton noted as he described Greenlight Re’s approach towards the specialty market.

“Our entry was pretty modest, in dollar terms, but it was a definitive change in Greenlight strategy where we are acting as a follower with relatively smaller shares in syndicated business, primarily in London Market classes,” Burton explained.

“This is really new ground for us, where we have never been active before.”

The classes Greenlight Re was interested in during the January 2017 renewals was marine, energy and space, but these were deliberately selected, Burton explained. There are a few other classes that Greenlight Re considered such as aviation, but there terms and conditions were not attractive enough.

Join us at Intelligent Automation in Insurance - London 2018.  Book by Feb 28th and you could save £300.

More of today's news

SCOR profits halve in 2017 while business expands

TransRe shrinks as rates disappoint

PartnerRe losses from HIM, California wildfires at $569m

Ryan Specialty acquires US specialty intermediary

Don't miss our insurtech email newsletter - sign up today