QBE CEO for European Operations Richard Pryce has said that he is cautiously optimistic about the future amid a looming Brexit deadline.
At a press briefing following the company’s 2018 results announcement Pryce said that he believed that while some may be choosing to pull away from British companies due to Brexit, this was primarily due to a perception problem as there were no current blocks to trade.
“Any decision not to do business with a British company at the moment is based more upon sentiment and expectation than any actual trading structures,” he said.
Pryce also said he believed that it may take longer than some people may like for things to settle down.
“I think It’s going to be a slightly long game as people get used to a country that not’s part of the EU and that’s obviously not playing out yet since we’re still there,” he said. “I think once we’re out it might leave certain Europeans to take a slightly different view.”
QBE received approval in 2018 from the National Bank of Belgium to set up a base in the country, and its office there is now fully operational. This was a strategic decision so the company could continue trading in the European Union.
“We had to take it into our own hands because we never relied upon a political outcome even though we are disappointed by a political outcome,” Pryce explained.
“We’re obviously comfortable that we have our Belgium operations up and running now and we can do insurance and reinsurance business from there.”
Having that business has made both their clients and staff more comfortable, Pryce said, as it gives them some more stability regardless of the outcome following the details of the Brexit.
“From our own experience we know that there were certain clients going around and saying ‘We are very happy that you have a European company because if you didn’t it might be a slightly different conversation,’” he said.
“But some of that is built upon sentiment rather than seeing how it’s actually going to trade. So again, I think that one is going to play out over two or three years.”
On a political level, Pryce said he was “very frustrated” by the way Brexit has been handled, but that all he has been able to do at a business level is look strategically.
“I don’t think we could quite run our business in the way they play politics,” he said. “It’s very disappointing.
“It puts us as business leaders in a very difficult position. We have to prepare for the worst and get on with it, which is what QBE has done. It’s no way to run a railroad but politicians have their own agendas, don’t they? It is disappointing but there’s not much I or anyone else can do about it.”
All that QBE can do, Pryce explained, is look forward and see what happens. He thinks that a lot of people believe there will be a transition, which may mean a shake up for the industry if there isn’t.
“Obviously, none of us have any idea if it’s going to fall off a cliff at the end of March or if there will be a transition period,” Pryce said. “I think if there isn’t any transition period then it could be quite interesting how insurance and reinsurance is played out going forward.”
