Asia

Navigators in China

The US specialty insurer and reinsurer, the Navigators Group has established a reinsurance presence in China through its Lloyd’s Syndicate 1221 via the Navigators Underwriting Division of Lloyd’s Reinsurance Company (China) Ltd (LRCCL). Navigators supplies 100% of capacity to Syndicate 1221, which is managed by Navigators Underwriting Agency Limited and serves as Navigators’ primary platform for business produced outside the US. Junci Wu, formerly a casualty underwriter in Navigators’ Chicago office, will underwrite on behalf of Syndicate 1221 at LRCCL. In a statement, the company said that Ms Wu is a native of Shanghai and recently returned to China after a decade in the US. Syndicate 1221 is the fifth Lloyd’s agency to establish a presence in the Chinese market. In a separate development, Lloyd’s has appointed Eric Gao, formerly Director & General Manager of Swiss Re’s Beijing branch, as the new chief executive of LRCCL. Lloyd’s said that Mr Gao will focus on strengthening Lloyd’s existing relationships and developing new ones within the Chinese insurance market. Mr Gao has held management roles at China America Insurance Co in Hong Kong and The PICC, both in Beijing and in London.