[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance announced on the 21st that it has signed a contract to participate in a paid-in capital increase of Canopius, a Lloyd's market in the UK, investing an additional 110 million dollars (approximately 130 billion KRW).
Since investing 150 million dollars (approximately 170 billion KRW) in Canopius last November, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance has been involved in management as a board member. Based on Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's strategic investment, Canopius acquired the Lloyd's business division of AmTrust in the United States, rising from 10th to 4th place in the Lloyd's market.
The Lloyd's market, with a history of 330 years, is regarded as a symbol of the global specialty insurance market. Specialty insurance refers to insurance that covers highly specialized risks not handled by traditional property and casualty insurance, such as terrorism, war, nuclear disasters, damage and theft of artworks and musical instruments, professional liability, and kidnapping.
The international property and casualty insurance market is facing risk factors related to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and digitalization, leading to a trend of rising insurance prices. Major insurers in Lloyd's view this situation as an opportunity for additional growth and profit generation, and are successively promoting paid-in capital increases.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance stated, "With this capital increase, the business cooperation between Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Canopius in the US and Asian regions, which was previously initiated, will be further strengthened," adding, "In particular, synergy effects are expected in the US, the world's largest property and casualty insurance market."
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