Lloyd’s of London inaugurates Mumbai office

Mumbai: Lloyd’s of London, inaugurated its Mumbai office on Wednesday in the presence of UK chancellor Phillip Hammond, with insurer MS Amlin joining as the first syndicate member in India.

The 328-year old Lloyd’s, which is considered the birthplace of modern insurance, operates as a marketplace where various syndicate members or insurance companies provide reinsurance protection. In India insurance laws were amended a couple of years ago to enable Lloyds to operate as a marketplace. Following this Lloyds has set up an office in the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai with insurer MS Amlin joining as the first syndicate to join the branch. The signing of a ceremonial Lloyd’s India policy was witnessed by Hammond and Lloyd’s Chairman John Nelson, as part of a trade delegation to boost ties between the UK and India.

Lloyd’s India will act as a domestic reinsurance branch of Lloyd’s, providing reinsurance support for specialty insurance covers. Shankar Garigiparthy has been appointed as head of Lloyd's India operations as Country Manager and CEO.

Commenting on the event, the UK Chancellor, Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, said that Lloyd’s will help Indian insurance firms increase the resilience of the economy to catastrophic events and boost Britain’s ties with one of the world’s most exciting economies, underlining our status as a truly global, trading nation.

“We have long hoped to be able to increase our support for the Indian market and now we are on the doorstep of our clients and trading partners in Mumbai and we look forward to working with them to develop the types of innovative risk solutions that Lloyd’s is world famous for,” said John Nelson, chairman of Lloyd’s. He added that Lloyd’s will help to strengthen and diversify the Indian reinsurance market, increasing the capacity, products and choice available to Indian insurers.