LLOYD’S WITHDRAWS REP FROM INDIA BUT REITERATES SUPPORT FOR MARKET

Lloyd’s has stressed it is not giving up on the Indian insurance market, despite withdrawing its representative in the country. The corporation’s frustration with the authorities in India, which were expressed by its chairman Lord Levene in an interview with Insurance Day in April, came to a head with the news that it was downscaling its operations in Mumbai. Lloyd’s had opened an office in the Indian financial centre last year on the back of comments by the Indian finance minister suggesting imminent liberalisation of the country’s insurance rules. It was headed by Shirirang Samant, the former managing director and chief executive of HDFC Chubb (IDnewscentre, May 16, 2007). But little progress has been made on market liberalisation, Lloyd’s said.