Acies MGU has launched TEDmar International, a new managing general agent (MGA) specialising in ports and terminals.
The business is led by marine market veterans Mark Trevitt and Charlie Newman and is backed entirely by a consortium of Lloyd's capacity.
Trevitt joins as managing director. He is an internationally recognised marine underwriter with more than 35 years in the market, having previously headed up ports and terminals initiatives at Navigators, Travelers Syndicate and IGI, including a spell at Lloyd's Asia in Singapore.
TEDmar offers a full package of cover for port and terminal operators and port authorities, spanning liability, property, equipment and operational risks. Cover extends to port property such as buildings, warehouses and hard standings, handling equipment ranging from forklifts to gantry cranes, and ancillary port craft including pilot cutters. Capacity runs to $25 million for both liability and property damage sections, with cover also available for business interruption losses tied to the operational assets that keep ports and terminals running.
"TEDmar brings proven expertise to the ports and terminals market, with our team having built three of the largest and most profitable P&T portfolios in London from scratch. We apply a disciplined, individually underwritten approach to this complex market," said Trevitt. He added that the team's understanding of specialised exposures, from marine professional indemnity to port property and business interruption, would be central to serving port authorities, terminal operators and the broader shipping ecosystem.
"Acies is keen to establish a strong presence in the marine market, and we're confident that TEDmar offers that first vital step in demonstrating our ability and expertise in this complex market," said Mark Heath, chief executive of Acies MGU. "Mark and Charlie's combined experience and track records speak for themselves. They are leading experts in marine insurance, and we're looking forward to supporting TEDmar's growth as Acies expands its diverse portfolio of specialist MGAs."
TEDmar's launch lands in a marine market where London retains an outsized role. Lloyd's syndicates provide between 35% and 40% of global marine insurance capacity, giving the London Market particular weight in how ports and terminals risk is priced and structured.
That capacity has been tested this year by geopolitical disruption to shipping routes, with tensions around the Strait of Hormuz prompting Lloyd's to back a new marine war risk consortium, led by Chubb with support from participating Lloyd's syndicates, to help cover vessels transiting the strait from 19 June 2026.
Rerouting away from the Suez Canal has caused steamship lines to reconsider transits, increasing exposure to delay, deterioration and contingent business interruption risk as supply chains reroute and transit times lengthen, a trend marine underwriters are watching closely as it feeds through to port throughput and terminal utilisation.
Against that backdrop, marine cargo and stock throughput rates remain soft, with well-performing programmes securing rate reductions of 7.5% to 15% or more at renewal.
TEDmar enters a segment long dominated by a single London-headquartered player. TT Club, the mutual insurer based at 90 Fenchurch Street, insures roughly 80% of the world's maritime containers and holds an insurable interest in over 45% of the world's top 100 ports. That scale has made it the default market for port and terminal risk for decades, meaning TEDmar arrives as a rare attempt to build standalone Lloyd's capacity alongside an established mutual incumbent, rather than into an open market.
The UK's own port infrastructure is also expanding, with government-backed freeport measures increasing cargo handling capacity and bringing in additional logistics providers, alongside continued digital transformation of port operations, both of which are expected to create further underwriting opportunities for specialist entrants over the coming years.
TEDmar becomes the latest addition to Acies MGU's growing stable of specialist MGAs, following recent launches including Subscribe MGA, a Lloyd's-backed underwriting agency specialising in financial lines insurance, and Phoenix Specialty in construction, as the group continues to build out a portfolio of niche underwriting businesses across the London Market.
