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Looking back on 2016, Lloyd’s Asia Pacific CEO Kent Chaplin feels excited about the partnership, announced in May, between Lloyd’s and the Pan Asia Insurance and Risk Management Association (PARIMA).
“We are very proud that we’ve entered into an agreement with PARIMA as their platinum partner, in particular to deliver a professional development program,” Chaplin says. “That program is to foster the continued education and professional development of risk managers. It’s the first of its kind in Asia.”
Chaplin discusses the “great success” Lloyd’s has had in India and Malaysia.
“We submitted our application to open Lloyd’s first ever onshore reinsurance branch in India… All things being equal, we hope to achieve our licence this year.”
He adds: “We also applied for an onshore reinsurance licence in Malaysia. That’ll be our first onshore licence in Malaysia and will give us direct access to the insurance market in Malaysia, to allow us to bring complementary capacity and expertise into that market, specifically to write larger and more complex risks where there isn’t local expertise and capacity.
“Once our licences are obtained in India and Malaysia, next year will be about setting up the operations and then working with the managing agents in London to establish themselves onshore and create local businesses.”
He talks about the “very dynamic regulatory landscape in Asia”, where regulators across the region are at vastly different stages of evolution, in terms of regulation and legislation.
“There is a significant amount of work happening at ASEAN insurance level, looking to create a free-trade agreement among the 10 member states, with an ambitious view to liberalise the insurance and reinsurance industry at an ASEAN level,” he explains.
Chaplin is keeping a close eye on the ASEAN free-trade initiative, which he says has made good progress in the manufacturing and trade sectors.
“The ASEAN Insurance Council has put in place positive measures for liberalising the natural catastrophe sector,” he says. “We’re looking to work very closely with that. We’re very supportive of the efforts they’re making and we look forward to seeing the benefits of that free trade when it’s completed.”
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