With a population in excess of 1.3 billion people, it’s fair to say that India has quite the prospective insurance market – and that’s one that Markel International will be hoping to capitalise on with the announcement of its latest deal.

The specialist insurer has been granted a licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to write reinsurance business in the country – with capacity to be provided courtesy of Markel’s Syndicate 3000 at Lloyd’s.

“We think there will be a strong level of demand from Indian insurers for the sort of specialty products and expertise that we can now deliver locally,” said William Stovin, president of Markel International. “We are delighted that our plans in India can now start to be realised.”

According to a release confirming the expansion, Markel India is set to offer both facultative and treaty reinsurance to local insurers across a range of classes with initial focuses including professional and financial risks, trade credit, energy, marine and contingency. It will be led by Deepika Mathur, who boasts 20 years of experience in the Indian insurance industry, and was most recently vice president of HDFC Ergo.

“The Indian economy has had a stellar performance since the turn of the century and that has seen a parallel increase in the demand for newer and more specialised insurance products,” he said. “That means we can bring our expertise to the local market and help in areas where businesses may be without the right insurance to protect themselves. We can help meet that need.”

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