Markel to underwrite US trade credit lines

Markel American Insurance Company and Markel Insurance Company will begin underwriting trade credit insurance in their New York office in July 2014, the company has announced.

The trade credit team in the US will be headed up by senior underwriter Philip Amlot, who will relocate from London to New York.

The new offering will build on Markel’s established trade credit portfolio in the US which up until now has been underwritten in Markel’s London office. The firm’s New York-based underwriting team joins similar trade credit underwriting teams deployed in London, Singapore and Munich.

“The trade credit insurance market in the US continues to grow and is becoming increasingly sophisticated,” says Ewa Rose, managing director of Markel’s trade credit unit. ”Our ability to write in the US broadens the scope of our trade credit offerings to US clients and their brokers, at a time when the US economy and local interest in credit insurance solutions are growing.”

“There has been a marked increase in demand for trade credit insurance to support capital relief related solutions, an area where Markel has a particular expertise. With a base in New York we can make best use of our established and proven relationships with US brokers delivering products that suit their clients’ needs.

Rose concludes, “The US launch gives us a truly global presence. This is an exciting strategic and tactical move for Markel.”