Specialist re/insurance provider Markel has opened its office in Mumbai, India, and is now actively writing business.
From the new office, the company will provide specialist facultative reinsurance to local Indian insurers, in a broad range of commercial classes including marine, energy, contingency, and professional and financial risks.
In June, Markel received its licence to write reinsurance business from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India.
Deepika Mathur will be in charge of the new office as CEO. She has close to 20 years’ experience in the Indian insurance industry, most recently as executive vice president at HDFC Ergo, the Indian/German general insurance joint venture. She was responsible for the casualty and financial lines business.
“We are now writing business in India and are very pleased with the response we have had from the domestic market, which affirms the demand from local Indian insurers for specialised products like those offered by Markel,” Mathur said.
“Establishing the office in Mumbai has been a complex undertaking involving Markel teams around the world, the effort put in by everybody has been truly inspiring,” said Matt Cannock, Markel’s managing director for Asia. “Deepika Mathur will be instrumental in providing Markel with access to the local reinsurance market. We are looking forward to servicing our existing relationships better and to starting many more new ones.”
