Africa Specialty Risks

🌟 We are pleased to welcome Trevor Oates to ASR, where he joins us as Head of Reinsurance. Trevor joins from Canopius, where he spent 25 years in a range of underwriting roles, most recently as a treaty underwriter. He will report to ASR’s CEO, Mikir Shah, and be responsible for ceded reinsurance purchasing across the whole ASR group, as well as working closely with ASR’s multiple capacity partners. Mikir commented: “Trevor is hugely experienced reinsurance executive, who has deep experience across our core products and geographies, along with strong relationships with the reinsurance market. I’m delighted to welcome him to ASR and help further our ceded reinsurance programme.” Trevor says: “ASR is an exciting, dynamic and ambitious company. I have been actively involved in building insurance capacity in Africa for more than 35 years, so I am really looking forward to working with Mikir and the team.” 🔗 See the full press release here:  https://lnkd.in/em_3Jjng #ASR #reinsurance #newhire

Mikir Shah, ASR’s CEO, Genevieve Ahinful, Head of Political Risk & Trade Credit, and Amit Khilosia, Chief Distribution Officer, met with Dr Jumoke Oduwole, Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment for Nigeria, last Tuesday in London for an Invest Africa Ltd roundtable discussion. The roundtable and reception saw the minister outline Nigeria’s strategic priorities for trade and investment. Discussions focused on opportunities for investors, regulatory advancements, and Nigeria’s commitment to fostering a more business-friendly environment. Mikir, Genevieve and Amit discussed with Dr Jumoke Oduwole how they could work together to increase investment in Nigeria and further the availability of specialty insurance solutions, with a focus on PRTC helping to de-risk investment in the country. Thank you to Invest Africa and Zenith Bank Plc for hosting the event in partnership with ASR. #Reinsurance #Nigeria #TradeMinister #ASR

📅 ASR’s Jalil Ammor, General Manager of ASR Morocco, Hind Gouriach, Treaty Underwriter, and Jennita Lebrasse, ACII, Construction Underwriter, will all be attending the upcoming Rendez-Vous de Casablanca de l'Assurance in Morocco on April 16-17 at Hyatt Regency Casablanca! 🌍 This year’s theme, “New technologies and AI: what opportunities for insurance?”, will delve into the importance of technological innovation in the transformation of the insurance sector. Discussions will explore how AI and digital advancements are reshaping the industry, along with the challenges and opportunities they present. 🖋️ Organised annually by the Moroccan Insurance Federation, this key event brings together industry leaders and professionals from the insurance sector to share insights, exchange ideas, and discuss the latest trends, all aimed at advancing the insurance and reinsurance sectors. 📩 If you are interested in connecting at the event or learning more about ASR’s activities in Morocco, please email: contact@asr.com 🔗 Find out more about the conference here: https://lnkd.in/eCufNzB #CasablancaRDV #Morocco #ASR

🔊 Come and join the Africa Specialty Risks team as we continue to enable sustainable economic development by fulfilling unmet insurance needs.    📑 We have a number of open positions across our offices in the UK, Mauritius, Bermuda, UAE and Morocco.    🌍 We have an exceptionally diverse team which truly represents the markets we operate in. ASR is comprised of 19 nationalities amongst our 120 staff, with 75% being multilingual. Almost half of our employees are female including 64% of our Mauritius office.   🔗 We are interested in people’s skills, ideas, and experiences. If you’re interested in exploring our open roles and learning more about ASR, visit: https://lnkd.in/erm_MteR    #ASR #reinsurance #JoinOurTeam #Careers #Hiring

On 8 April, Mikir Shah, ASR’s CEO, will be attending the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC)’s Trade & Investment Summit at the Old Ballroom, Mansion House, and will be speaking on a roundtable at 10am entitled “Closing the Insurance Gap”.   The summit brings together senior leaders, ministers, and business representatives from across the Commonwealth, serving as a vital platform for dialogue, collaboration, and action on key trade and investment priorities.   The roundtable will involve discussions on how insurance can play a critical role in mitigating various risks, including risks associated with climate change, technological acceleration, demographic shifts, and macroeconomic uncertainty, as well as covering strategies for scaling solutions, improving risk assessment through data and technology, and creating an investment climate that fosters innovation in insurance.   Chairing the roundtable will be Frederick Windsor CFA, Executive Director, JPMorganChase, and they will be joined by participants from various companies within the banking and insurance sectors.   🔗 Read more about the summit here: https://lnkd.in/gZcJma2A   #CommonwealthSummit #MitigatingRisk #ASR

"Index insurance happened to be a great product to rapidly scale and protect a large number of vulnerable people in developing regions”, commented Sylvain Coutu, ASR’s Head of Innovation and Sustainability and Parametric Lead, in a recent article by Francis Churchill of Insurance Day looking at how insurers are adding a new vector to climate finance.   Sylvain highlighted how insurers are increasingly active in climate finance, moving beyond traditional risk transfer to become proactive partners in resilience building and risk-informed financing.   Key points from the interview include: 🔸 the evolution of insurers’ role in development finance has been a long time in the making 🔸 commitments from major players in the industry remains crucial 🔸 collaboration between insurers and development banks results in innovative financial solutions and strategies   🔗 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/euxzFRv4   #InsuranceDay #ASR #Climatefinance

📅 ASR’s Corinne Beadsmoore, Head of Broker & Cedent Engagement, will be attending the Africa Sustainable Insurance Summit 2025 in Accra next week. This year's theme, "Building a new sustainability culture for African insurance markets," resonates deeply with our commitment to fostering sustainable practices within the insurance industry. The conference will explore several critical topics and themes through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and breakout session. Core themes: 🔹 ESG principles 🔹 Sustainable investments 🔹 Innovation in sustainable insurance 🔹 Climate resilience and disaster risk protection 🔹 Collaboration and knowledge sharing The Africa Sustainable Insurance Summit, hosted by the The Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance (NDSI), will bring together large representation of the NDSI membership and wider insurance industry. We're eager to collaborate with other insurance sector experts, leaders, and policymakers to translate ESG principles into actionable strategies for insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and regulators across Africa, so please reach out to Corinne to organise a meeting. #ESG FSD Africa #Insurance #SustainableInsurance

ASR was honoured to host a delegation from the Rwandan insurance market in London this week, where they met with each of our underwriting heads to gain deeper insights into our various lines of business and explore opportunities for enhanced collaboration.   The delegation included Dr Ben Karenzi, CEO of Reinsurance Brokerage Solutions; Andrew Kulayige, Chairman of the Rwanda Insurers Association (ASSAR RWANDA); and Shelagh Kahonda, Executive Director for Financial Stability at the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR).   They also visited Lloyd's to better understand market operations and potential avenues for increased engagement between Rwanda and the London market, with trade credit insurance being of particular interest.   A key highlight of the visit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ASR and the Rwanda Insurers Association, further strengthening our partnership.   A special thank you to Brian McGregor for facilitating the visit, as well as to Amit Khilosia and Miko Mosedie for their efforts in coordinating meetings and logistics, ensuring a seamless and productive trip. #ASR #Rwanda

🤝 We are pleased to announce that Africa Specialty Risks has agreed Binding Authority Agreements with Sava Re, the Slovenian reinsurance group, live for risks as of 20 March 2025. 🖋️ Sava Re will provide capacity for the Binding Authority, with each agreement providing up to $10 million in line size across all core ASR classes. The binding agreement will give Sava Re deeper access to risks originating from Africa, the Middle East and developing markets, allowing ASR to further its mission of enabling sustainable economic development by fulfilling unmet insurance needs. 🗯️ Mikir Shah, ASR CEO, said, “Sava Re is one of the strongest reinsurers in CEE with excellent risk and capital management, demonstrated by their financial strength ratings. Entering into this partnership gives us further access to leading capacity which we can deploy to developing markets. Throughout Africa, the Middle East and growth economies, there’s a huge demand for specialty insurance solutions, and ASR will continue to be at the forefront of meeting this demand.” 🗯️ Marko Jazbec, Chairman of the Management Board Sava Re, said, “This agreement with ASR will enable us to increase our footprint in Africa, the Middle East and developing markets. ASR have a strong distribution network across these regions, and we can add geographic diversification to our portfolio, while knowing that we’re partnering with a diligent and leading underwriting focused firm.” 🌍 Sava Re is the operating holding company of the Sava Insurance Group, one of the largest reinsurance companies domiciled in southeastern Europe, servicing more than 450 partners in over one hundred reinsurance markets worldwide. It maintains “A”-level long-term financial strength ratings, with a positive outlook- by S&P Global Ratings and stable outlook by AM Best. 🔗 Read the full press release here: https://lnkd.in/e3_HsBUG #ASR #BindingAuthority #SavaRe

Aurelien Sauty, Head of Marine and Aviation, has been in Kenya and Uganda this week, conducting comprehensive marine insurance training sessions.   Kicking off in Nairobi, Aurélien was joined by insurance underwriters and reinsurance brokers before moving to Kampala to provide a similar training session for the Ugandan market.   The training program covered a wide range of topics, including: 🔸 Latest industry trends 🔸 Current regulatory themes 🔸 In-depth technical analysis of maritime risks   A big thanks to Moses Mbitu and Stella Shyamala M.B A, C.S.A for organising and co-hosting these sessions.   Aurélien is based in ASR’s Dubai office and has two decades of experience in the marine and aviation insurance sectors. Learn more about ASR’s marine insurance solutions - https://lnkd.in/esujGjx2