ASR North Africa gets clearance to serve as Lloyd’s service company  

Reinsurer Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) has secured authorisation for ASR North Africa to function as a Lloyd’s service company. 

This enables the company to underwrite in the region on behalf of Syndicate 2454, granting brokers in Morocco and north-west Africa direct access to Lloyd’s capacity. 

ASR inaugurated its office in Casablanca, Morocco, in November 2022 and was awarded Casablanca Finance City (CFC) status by the Minister of Economy and Finance.  

The company recently launched a captive’s initiative in collaboration with the West African Development Bank.  

The bank raised more than $500m (£386.86m) in a round that was 3.4 times oversubscribed. 

ASR CEO Mikir Shah said: “Lloyd’s service company approval is an important moment for ASR’s operations in Morocco, which will serve north-west Africa. ASR is now one of the significant insurance players in the African market, and we look forward to leveraging our Baobab consortium to bring meaningful capacity to this important region.” 

Lloyd’s AIME regional manager Shankar Garigiparthy added: “We are very pleased to welcome Africa Specialty Risks as a Lloyd’s service company in Morocco. The CFC has a crucial role in the regional insurance market, and this additional capacity will provide businesses an opportunity to scale their customer offerings and contribute towards the region’s continued development.” 

In January this year, ASR launched the Baobab consortium at Lloyd’s, providing partner syndicates access to developing markets coupled with on-the-ground technical expertise.  

ASR also established its Lloyd’s service company in Mauritius, which commenced underwriting local business for Syndicate 2454 in the same month.