Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) has received regulatory approval to open a branch in South Korea, being the first foreign general insurer to do so in almost a decade.
The Seoul branch will be the latest addition to AGCS’ Asian network, which has offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, India, Brunei and Myanmar. Asian operations contributed 5% of the Allianz Group’s overall global premium volume of €7.6 billion (US$8.66 billion) in 2016.
Carsten Scheffel, AGCS board member and chief regions and markets officer for Asia said: “We have been active in this thriving market for several years. The local office in Seoul will allow us to serve both local South Korean and global companies with South Korean interests much more efficiently. Already, more than 11% of our global clients have operations in South Korea protected under our international insurance programs.”
By having a branch in South Korea, Allianz now has presence in 31 countries across the globe, including all of the top 10 insurance markets. It will offer a variety of product lines from its Seoul office, including engineering, financial lines, property, marine, midcorp and liability. Automobile manufacturers, technology, and electronics clients are seen as key growth areas in the market, which is one of the most internet-connected societies in the world.
Noh Chang Tae, formerly part of AGCS Singapore’s regional market management team, will be CEO of AGCS South Korea. He will be supported by a team of 13 underwriters and client-facing staff, with more talent to be recruited locally.
