Final India approval given to Lloyd’s

Lloyd's has been given final "R3" approval from the Indian regulator to set up a branch in the country. Lloyd’s has said it plans to begin writing business in time for the April reinsurance renewals. The branch will be situated in Mumbai and will provide a variety of specialty reinsurance classes of business. Lloyd's chairman John Nelson dubbed the approval a "watershed moment" in the market's international strategy. Nelson said, "Lloyd's will help to share and develop expertise across the industry to position India as an international centre for insurance and reinsurance. A strong and diverse reinsurance market will de-risk the economy and enable its entrepreneurs and businesses to take risks and thrive. A local presence in India will bring Lloyd's closer to clients and risks enhancing understanding and the ability to develop new solutions for the needs of the Indian market with a particular focus on agriculture, infrastructure and disaster management." Lloyd's is the latest entity to be granted approval to operate in the country by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), following its approval of five global reinsurers last month. Munich Re, Swiss Re, Scor, Hannover Re and Reinsurance Group of America were all approved to set up offices as the Indian market continued its liberalisation programme.