CB Murali, CEO of AGCS India
• Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) continues to expand in Asia Pacific, responding to the needs of global corporate clients and capitalizing on market growth opportunities in India
• Located in Mumbai, AGCS India will target commercial reinsurance with a new reinsurance branch license
• CB Murali to be CEO of AGCS India
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS), the dedicated carrier for corporate and specialty insurance business of Allianz SE, celebrates the official opening of their new branch office in Mumbai today, having received the necessary reinsurance license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) earlier last year. The new reinsurance branch allows AGCS to further expand its presence across Asia Pacific to capitalize on growth opportunities in the Indian market and better serve global corporate clients with business interests in the country. The India branch is the latest addition to AGCS Asia Pacific’s regional footprint of 11 countries in the region, following on the heels of a new branch office in South Korea in 2017.
Large, under-penetrated market presents opportunity
AGCS continues the trend of global reinsurance companies expanding operations into one of the fastest emerging re/insurance markets, following the Indian government’s move to amend regulations and open the reinsurance market to foreign companies in 2016. AGCS is no stranger to India, having worked closely with Bajaj Allianz and its Global Risks division since 2013.
AGCS sees the India corporate insurance market as holding significant potential due to its size, low penetration rates, and expected growth of the economy. India is the world’s 11th largest insurance market and 5th in Asia behind China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan by premium volume. However, industry estimates show that India only ranks 73rd in the world with a meagre non-life insurance penetration rate of 0.93% of GDP, suggesting opportunities for future growth as the market matures . Indeed, industry estimates have predicted reinsurance premiums in India to increase at 11-14% CAGR, reaching USD 11 billion in premiums by 2022 . Similarly, the India economy has surpassed China as the world’s fastest growing economy every year since 2014, with the exception of 2017 .
Sinéad Browne, AGCS Board Member and Chief Regions and Markets Officer for Asia Pacific said: “India’s continued rapid growth and the opening up of the domestic reinsurance market to foreign owned insurers makes it the ripe time to have our own branch in the country. This will allow us to better help clients navigate the continually evolving risk landscape with local underwriting and risk management expertise. India has huge potential to develop into a major reinsurance hub in Asia and we aim to part of this future success story.”
AGCS India Branch will initially offer tailored reinsurance solutions on the following lines of business: Property, Liability, Marine, Financial Lines, Construction & Engineering, and Energy. In particular, AGCS sees opportunities in large scale construction projects under the USD 106 billion Bharatmala infrastructure development plan, as well as strong contributions from the automotive, electronics and high-tech communication industries, all of which complements AGCS’s areas of specialist expertise. AGCS also expects particular demand for reinsurance capacity for cyber and initial public offering (IPO) insurance, offered under the Financial Lines line of business.
The new branch in India will also benefit multinational AGCS clients with Indian business interests. For example, more than 20% of clients AGCS serves under its international insurance program, Allianz Multinational, have operations in India. The local branch will provide AGCS with larger access and priority to business ceded by Indian insurers than it would have as a foreign based reinsurer, and places AGCS in a better position to offer its market leading capacity and technical expertise to clients.
Mark Mitchell, Regional CEO AGCS Asia Pacific, said: “India has long been a key part of AGCS’s regional portfolio, and I look forward to the even closer collaboration with our business partners that this local branch will allow. As a leading global player in the reinsurance industry, the set-up of AGCS India will strengthen the expertise acquired by our previous operations in the India market and help us meet our clients’ continually changing needs.”
As a branch of AGCS SE, the office in Mumbai will benefit from AGCS’s strong financial ratings, and will continue to work closely with the regional office in Singapore. Mr. Chalat Balaraman “CB” Murali will assume the role of CEO of AGCS India. Mr. Murali, an Indian national, has over 32 years of P&C insurance experience in India and was previously the head of Bajaj Allianz’s Global Risks division.
AGCS is currently present in 11 countries and 16 cities in the region, a list that also includes Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Indonesia, Brunei, Myanmar, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand. Asia Pacific business contributed 6.3% to AGCS overall global premium volume of EUR 7.4 billion in 2017.
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