Lloyd's opens Stockholm office

Lloyd’s first representative office in Sweden was officially opened on Thursday, 17 September. The office will act as the hub for all Nordic operations.

Despite the global economic downturn, Lloyd’s business in the Nordic region has grown in the past few years. Lloyd’s premium income from Nordic countries grew by £50m from £300 million in 2007 to £350 million in 2008.

The office was opened by British Ambassador to Sweden, Andrew Mitchell, and Enrico Bertagna, Lloyd’s Regional Manager, Europe.

At the opening Bertagna commented that the Lloyd’s market is ideally suited to meet several of the region’s specific insurance needs. Norway is one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, an industry in which Lloyd’s has world-renowned expertise. The region also has a strong, well-established shipping industry, while Lloyd’s maritime links go back to the market’s origins over 300 years ago.

The Nordic market’s stability, its strong culture of good risk management and lack of major natural hazards has increasingly attracted underwriters in recent years, while the region has shown little appetite for US-style litigation techniques that have become a growing feature elsewhere in Europe.