Catlin and China Re have announced that China Re's application for a standalone Lloyd's syndicate has been formally approved and will officially begin underwriting on 1 January.
The China Re Syndicate (Syndicate 2088) will be managed by Catlin Underwriting Agencies, and is projected to underwrite around £120mn of premiums in 2015, initially focusing on reinsurance, property, marine and specialty treaty.
It is the first time a Chinese-owned company has established a Lloyd's syndicate writing open market business.
Not only does it provide China Re with additional business to complement its existing portfolio and a London presence, it also brings the potential for increased flows of Chinese business and a greater understanding of Chinese risks to Lloyd's.
Syndicate 2088 is borne out of the special purpose syndicate China Re established with Catlin at Lloyd's in 2011, which has written whole-account quota share reinsurance for Syndicate 2003.
Syndicate 2003 is the largest syndicate at Lloyd's and is owned and managed by the Catlin Group, the largest syndicate manager at Lloyd's for the past five years based on gross premiums written.
Dr Li Peiyu, chairman of China Re, said his team was grateful to Lloyd's for its consideration of their application, and to Catlin for its help and agreement to provide management services to the Syndicate in its initial years.
"The new stand-alone China Re Syndicate will further raise awareness of the China Re brand in the Lloyd's market. Our long-term strategy is to increase our activities in the international markets, and we look forward to working with international clients and their brokers placing business in the Lloyd's market," he continued.
"China Re and Catlin formed a strategic partnership three years ago that has been mutually beneficial, and the establishment of the China Re Syndicate at Lloyd's takes that partnership to a new level. In the future, China Re plans to establish its own Lloyd's managing agent company, so as to fully integrate ourselves into the Lloyd's market."
Stephen Catlin, CEO of Catlin Group, added that the syndicate further underscored Lloyd's position as a leading market for international (re)insurance.
Randall & Quilter will provide services and back office support to China Re.
Matthew Sage will be the active underwriter of Syndicate 2088. He most recently was chief underwriting officer of Catlin Bermuda, a post he assumed in 2008. Sage joined Catlin in London in 1991, concentrating on the underwriting of non-marine reinsurance accounts.
The syndicate's deputy active underwriter will be Yin Hang, currently deputy general manager of the International Business Department at China Re in Beijing. They will soon be joined by an underwriting team composed of both Chinese and London market professionals.
The syndicate's non-underwriting functions will be led by Timothy Peters as syndicate manager, and Liu Gangjian, as deputy syndicate manager.
Peters is currently the group head of reinsurance asset management for Catlin Group and has served as finance director of Catlin Underwriting Agencies, while Gangjian is currently the chief representative of China Re's London representative office.
