Volante Receives ‘In-Principle’ Nod From Lloyd’s to Launch Asta-Managed Syndicate
Volante Capital Holdings (Bermuda) Ltd., the international multi-class managing general agency platform, has received “in-principle” approval from Lloyd’s to launch Syndicate 1699 for the 2022 year of account, with initial stamp capacity of £130 million ($177.4 million).
The syndicate will bring business to Lloyd’s through Volante’s existing international network of nine local service companies, which will underwrite in eight classes across five continents. Volante’s MGA teams will continue to underwrite business separately using third-party capacity binders.
Volante, which is majority-owned by Nephila Holdings Ltd., will be managed by Asta Managing Agency Ltd.
“We seek to create a new kind of international Lloyd’s vehicle within the Volante Group, one which champions Lloyd’s standards and upper quartile underwriting performance,” says Talbir Bains, founder and chief executive officer of Volante Global. “Our ambition is to establish a fully aligned partnership between Lloyd’s and our existing local underwriting offices, which will be re-established as service companies to Volante Syndicate 1699.”
Volante said its future growth will be driven by the expansion of existing portfolios and through teams offering products and services to niche and specialty market sectors supported by new cloud-based digital platforms offering fast and efficient access for brokers, enhanced portfolio management and minimized operating costs.
“Our parallel syndicate and MGA entities, each backed by the world’s leading risk capital providers, will form an organization unique in Lloyd’s and the London market, one proven to deliver market-leading underwriting profitability,” Bains said.
“In less than four years, through the sponsorship of our strategic carrier partners, we have delivered a transformational MGA to the market,” he added. “We now seek to continue the development with the creation of an international syndicate at Lloyd’s, and we are very privileged to partner with Asta in this evolution of the Volante Group. We are grateful to the team at Guy Carpenter, our advisors in the process.”
“As an MGA operation, Volante has been an outstanding performer, based on its refreshing and entirely different business model. When they came to us for advice on forming a Lloyd’s syndicate, we immediately saw how their approach and objectives would be beneficial to the market, to capital providers, and, with Volante’s innovative products and confident commission structure, to distribution partners too,” commented Asta Chief Executive Officer Julian Tighe.
Asta Managing Agency is the leading third-party managing agent at Lloyd’s and is responsible for 11 syndicates, three SPAs and three MGAs with capacity under management in 2021 of more than £1.4 billion ($1.9 billion).
Source: Volante Global