The Swedish Club’s most important diversification in recent years has received the green light. The Club’s Board, meeting in Dubai September 30, unanimously backed a plan to enter the global property and loss of hire insurance market for Mobile Offshore Units including FPSO’s. The new business line will be coordinated and marketed from a new representative office in Oslo, to be opened before the year’s end. Underwriting will commence early 2011.

Lars Rhodin, The Swedish Club’s Managing Director, said: This decision is an important milestone in the Club’s development. Now, we are capitalising on the Club’s strong recent performance and seizing a timely opportunity to enter a target market with a value exceeding USD 300 million.”

 Lars Rhodin continued: “The Swedish Club today has a refreshing vigour, reflecting a new management team, an enhanced reinsurance programme, encouraging rates of growth and positive financial performance. We will now embark on a new, exciting diversification offering positive synergies with our existing business. At the fundamental level, this market is familiar territory, as most accounts are written on the basis of The Norwegian Plan (2007) widely used for marine Hull cover. Furthermore, many potential clients in this sector have backgrounds and active operations in shipping.

“Whilst remaining fully committed to further growth in the P&I and Marine markets, we now intend to develop a distinct business providing property and loss of hire cover for drilling rigs, accommodation rigs, service rigs and floating production/storage units. We believe this new initiative — taken together with continued good performance — will have an important and positive long-term influence on the Club’s financial standing.”

Recent changes in this market have opened a window of opportunity for The Swedish Club to enter this business segment at this juncture. Entry into this market, however, has been under consideration for some time.
The Swedish Club will follow a conservative, prudent and long-term strategy. During the initial years business will be written based on a maximum capacity of USD 50 million per unit.

The target market consists of well over 250 Mobile Offshore Units, the majority being Scandinavian accounts. Lars Rhodin adds: “Norway is the epicentre of this business; it is essential to develop a strong local presence. The Swedish Club’s new Oslo representative office will provide a focus for our offshore activities and, in addition, act as a powerful new stimulus for the further development of our P&I and Marine portfolios.

The new Oslo office will be headed by Verner Rydning. He has a strong track record of achievement in this sector, as Head of Energy at both Marsh and Aon in Oslo during the last 10 years. More importantly he also has 20 years experience from active offshore underwriting for Norwegian and international insurers.

Yours sincerely,
The Swedish Club

Lars Rhodin

Contact:
Henric Gard, The Swedish Club,  telephone: +46 31 638 400
TRS Public Relations, telephone: +44 1304 813 366