Beazley Completes Acquisition of Momentum Underwriting Management Ltd
London, November 5 2008
Beazley Group plc ('Beazley') has completed its acquisition of the entire existing share capital of Momentum Underwriting Management Limited ('MUM') following approval from Lloyd's and the Financial Services Authority.
The Momentum team, under the continued management of Chris Branch, forms Beazley's new Accident & Life division, further strengthening Beazley's product portfolio.
To support this acquisition, Beazley is establishing two new Lloyd's syndicates. Syndicate 3623 focuses on Personal Accident and will also insure Sports business through its leadership of consortium 9476. Syndicate 3622 is a dedicated Life syndicate. All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best.
Syndicate 3623 has already been authorised by Lloyd's and is able to accept business immediately. Subject to Lloyd's approval, Syndicate 3622 will accept business from 1 January 2009.
The team will be based at Beazley's London headquarters and will underwrite from Beazley's box at Lloyd's. Momentum's Australian office will also become a Beazley subsidiary, providing the group's first local presence in this market.
'Beazley's new Accident & Life division will further diversify our underwriting portfolio into attractive growth markets and extend our geographic reach. I am delighted to welcome Chris Branch and his colleagues to the Beazley team,' said Andrew Horton, Chief Executive of Beazley.
For further information, please contact:
Beazley Group plc
Andrew Horton, Chief Executive
Tel: 020 7667 0623
Finsbury Group
Vanessa Neill, Associate Partner
Andrew Holt, Executive
Tel: 020 7251 3801
Lexicon Partners Limited
Angus Winther
Tel: 020 7653 6000
Note to editors:
Beazley Group, plc (BEZ.L), is the London-based parent company of global, specialist insurance businesses with operations in the UK, US, France, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. Beazley manages four Lloyd's syndicates: Syndicate 2623 and Syndicate 623 underwrite a broad range of insurance and reinsurance business worldwide; Syndicate 3623 focuses on accident and health business; and 3622 is a dedicated life syndicate. For 2009 Beazley's syndicates will share an aggregate underwriting capacity of £770m (US$1.5bn). All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best. In the US, Beazley's underwriters focus on writing specialist insurance products in the admitted market, backed by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an admitted carrier in all 50 states; and surplus lines risks, backed by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's. Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. is rated A by A.M. Best.
Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.
For more information please go to: www.beazley.com