The St. Paul Launches New Lloyd’s Syndicate

The St. Paul at Lloyd’s announced the launch of Syndicate 5000, its newly created corporate syndicate that will specialize in underwriting non-life business at Lloyd’s on behalf of The St. Paul Companies beginning in the year 2003.

Syndicate 5000 succeeds Syndicate 1211, and represents “the culmination of a two-year strategy to consolidate the company’s non-life business into a single syndicate,” said the announcement. “Focusing all our non-life underwriting activities into a single syndicate strengthens our ability to respond to market opportunities, and grow our business with a firm focus upon profitable underwriting, at a time when market conditions are the strongest we have seen for many years,” commented David Reed, CEO of The St. Paul at Lloyd’s. “It also enables us to simplify significantly both our structure and our processes.”

The bulletin explained that The St. Paul at Lloyd’s originally managed seven mixed capital syndicates. As of the 2003 year of account, however, “the company will, via the single syndicate, offer marine, aviation, property and, under the trading name of Cassidy Davis Insurance Group, specialist personal lines.”

The move to a single syndicate was accelerated by the acquisition of £7.5 million ($11.73 million) of Aviation Syndicate 340’s capacity during Lloyd’s 2002 capacity auctions, said the St. Paul. The purchase took its share of syndicate capacity up from 92.1% to 99.7%, “enabling the company, with Lloyd’s consent, to complete a minority buyout of the outstanding 0.3%.” Transferring The syndicate’s portfolio into Syndicate 5000 provides a £435 million ($ 680 million)capacity for the 2003 account.

“Syndicate 779, Cassidy Davis Life, managed by the company, continues to trade independently, and remains a mixed capital syndicate,” said the announcement.