Lloyd’s Brussels: Our base in the heart of Europe
On 22 May 2018, Lloyd’s was honoured to receive regulatory approval from the National Bank of Belgium to establish an insurance company in Brussels.
This milestone moves us closer to our objective of being fully operational in Brussels by 1 January 2019 to ensure we can continue to work closely with our EU27 partners post-Brexit.
Having an insurance company in Brussels offers many advantages for our EU27 partners and provides us with a tremendous opportunity to grow. As Lloyd’s accelerates its own digital transformation, our subsidiary will be at the forefront of our modernisation drive to deliver the most innovative services to our EU27 clients.
For Lloyd’s, the EU27 has always been an important market. Between 2011 and 2016, Lloyd’s enjoyed a year-on-year increase in premium across the region, with an increase in demand for cover for specialist risks such as cyber risk and energy. Meeting the needs of innovative companies and organisations is how we became the world’s leading insurance market and moving into Brussels is a continuation of that fine tradition.
Today we see significant growth potential with our partners in the EU27. For instance, the cyber insurance market could exceed €1.7 billion GWP by 2020 across the EU27 countries. Belgium and Luxembourg have recently seen a manifold increase in space travel and satellite investment. The Nordic region has become the world’s foremost “unicorn” factory, generating more new businesses worth over €850 million than anywhere else. These fast expanding businesses and hypermodern sectors come with the kinds of specialty risks that Lloyd’s has always been a pioneer in.
Following the 2016 EU membership referendum in the UK, we have found ourselves managing the potential risks that may arise because of Brexit. Scenarios as broad as a deal is agreed to no deal, soft Brexit to hard Brexit, Customs Union to World Trade Organization rules, mean that this is a very uncertain time. As an organisation that prides itself on managing risk, we have therefore focused on providing certainty for our customers and partners. Our Brussels subsidiary will ensure that our partners in the EU27 can continue benefitting from Lloyd’s specialist expertise, innovative policies and financial security post-Brexit.
The Brussels subsidiary will be set up as a new insurance company with 19 branches throughout Europe, including the UK. We are ensuring that we will deliver the best services to existing and future clients. There is already a wealth of experience in our EU27 market, with 392 coverholders and 450 brokers, and we are thrilled with the opportunities that our new base in Brussels will bring to our partners and the market.
Vincent Vandendael,
Chief Executive Officer of Lloyd’s Brussels and Lloyd’s Chief Commercial Officer