About Lloyd's in China
The Lloyd’s market has provided offshore reinsurance capacity to the Chinese insurance market since the 1970s for a diverse range of risks. Over the decades a relationship of mutual support has developed and in 2000 Lloyd’s opened its representative office in Beijing.
Further development in China was regarded as a long-term strategic investment by Lloyd’s to give the market onshore access to the rapidly growing Chinese insurance market. Therefore, in 2007 Lloyd’s Reinsurance Company (China) Limited (hereafter referred to as Lloyd’s China) was established in Shanghai as a subsidiary of the Lloyd’s corporation and a regulated Chinese reinsurance company.
As far as possible, Lloyd’s China replicates the unique features of the Lloyd’s marketplace, allowing Chinese policyholders to benefit from the diversity of the Lloyd’s market within a corporate structure which meets local regulatory requirements. Each participating syndicate forms an ‘underwriting division’, which writes direct or reinsurance business that is ceded to the respective syndicate via a retrocession and/or reinsurance arrangement.
In May 2010, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) extended Lloyd's China’s licence to include non-life direct insurance in the Shanghai region, which was a significant development for Lloyd’s presence in China. In October 2010, the company name was changed to Lloyd’s Insurance Company (China) Limited to reflect its expanded business scope. The extended licence became operational in September 2011.
