Sompo International is a subsidiary of Sompo Holdings, Inc. whose core business encompasses one of the largest property and casualty insurance groups in the Japanese domestic market.
On Monday the company announced plans to make Luxembourg its new European insurance headquarters as a result of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
A statement on the company’s website says it has been “formulating a strategy to address issues” relating to Brexit, in particular the “potential loss of EU passporting rights”, along with many other insurers operating in the UK.
The new entity, SI Insurance (Europe) will also write reinsurance business.
“We have been developing our strategy for Europe for some time and SI Insurance (Europe) will enable us to provide our broad range of products more widely and efficiently, as well as strengthening our service capabilities to our international clients,” John Charman, Chairman and CEO of SI said. “Establishing SI Insurance (Europe) in Luxembourg will be the first step in our ambitious plan to create a strong position in the European commercial P&C marketplace.”
Operating out of Luxembourg, the company will create a base for continued business expansion in Europe. Regulatory approval is expected in the second quarter of 2018.
Nicolas Mackel, CEO of Luxembourg for Finance, welcomes the move and said it will “further enrich Luxembourg’s financial services ecosystem already composed of six leading Japanese banks and now the three Japanese Mega-Insurers”.