Liberty Int’l., Liberty Syndicates Combine for Mideast Terror Risks

Liberty International Underwriters (LIU) and Liberty Syndicates have launched a joint initiative to provide war and terrorism insurance capacity for Middle Eastern risks.

“LIU will distribute its product through Middle Eastern brokers and provide customer service from its regional office in the Dubai International Financial Centre backed by reinsurance capacity and expertise provided by Liberty Syndicates in London,” the bulletin explained.

LIU will offer coverage for “onshore energy-related risks, industrial units and urban risks such as hotels, restaurants, office blocks and banks.”

The bulletin also pointed out that the demand for “war and terrorism cover has increased in the Middle East because, in several jurisdictions, banks require back-to-back cover as precondition for financial support.

“There has also been a surge in demand for war and terrorism cover following recent events which resulted in political change in Tunisia and Egypt and widespread civil unrest elsewhere in the MENA [Middle East-North Africa] region.”

Michael Burle, class underwriter at Liberty Syndicates, noted: “We began to discuss opportunities to develop the initiative in August 2010. Since then, political and regulatory events have meant that demand has surged.”

Eli Bouchaaya, MENA regional manager for LIU, indicated that the group was “very pleased to be able to access our group’s Lloyd’s syndicate in order to bring supplementary underwriting expertise and capacity to this complex set of risks. We have worked hard to ensure the product is provided as a rapid and seamless service across the GCC and wider MENA region, with a 24-hour promise for policy quotes.”

The joint venture product is marketed via Liberty Mutual Group for the GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman) and MENA region. However it excludes coverage for Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Sudan.

Source: Liberty Mutual