Novae Re launched

UK insurer Novae Group Plc has established an international reinsurance unit to take advantage of improving conditions in the reinsurance market. Novae Re will offer reinsurance products including specialist classes such as agriculture and engineering that Novae said are not traditional features of the London market. Novae Re will begin writing new business from the beginning of 2010 targeting premiums of £100mn for the year. A team of 12 senior reinsurance underwriters have joined Novae Re and will be based in offices in London and Zurich. Gunther Saacke, formerly with Converium and latterly head of reinsurance at Endurance UK, will head Novae Re. He will be joined by Johannes Goebel, formerly head of reinsurance at Allianz Global Risks, agriculture specialist Karl Schneider and Willi Schuerch from Partner Re, who will head catastrophe and specialty underwriting.