Specialist insurer Beazley has received authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland to convert its Dublin-based reinsurance company into an insurance company permitted to transact business throughout the European Union.
Beazley established a reinsurance company – Beazley Reinsurance Designated Activity Company (dac) – for internal reinsurance transactions in Dublin in 2009. Beazley said in a statement that one reason for choosing Ireland as the location for Beazley Re was the option it offered to develop business in Europe. It said that plans to expand the company's remit to underwrite nonlife insurance formed part of Beazley's strategy for European growth developed in 2015 and early 2016, predating the British referendum vote to withdraw from the European Union last June.
The insurer said that the renamed company, Beazley Insurance dac, will provide access to European insurance markets alongside that afforded by Lloyd's, which in March announced plans to establish a new Brussels-based insurance company capable of writing European business for the January 1, 2019 renewal season, subject to regulatory approval.
Continental Europe currently accounts for just over five percent of Beazley's total business, and the region is a focus for growth in the years ahead. Within Beazley's specialty lines division, a team headed by Gerard Bloom has been developing a suite of products for European markets, reflecting Beazley's expertise in professional indemnity, management liability, financial institutions, and cyber risks. In the coming months, Beazley said, it will be establishing branch offices in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain.
Beazley's chief executive officer, Andrew Horton, welcomed the authorization of Beazley Insurance, saying, “This is an important step in the realization of our European strategy. Dublin is an excellent base for our European insurance company, with a highly regarded regulatory system and local access to talented individuals who are well versed in the operating needs of a modern insurer.”