Al Wathba Insurance uses London Bridge to allocate capital to Lloyd’s opportunities

Al Wathba Insurance, an insurance company based in the United Arab Emirates operating out of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has become the first insurer from the region to access the Lloyd’s of London insurance and reinsurance market using its London Bridge 2 PCC insurance-linked securities structure.

London Bridge 2 PCC is seeing continually increasing traction as a mechanism to deploy capital into the Lloyd’s marketplace.

As an ILS structure it is well-suited to third-party investors looking to fund Lloyd’s structures and as a mechanism to access reinsurance-linked returns from the market.

But London Bridge 2 PCC is also an efficient way for re/insurers to deploy capital to the market as a way to access new sources of diversification, a modern way to fund obligations there and bypassing more traditional routes that have been used in the past.

Al Wathba Insurance has now completed its first allocation of capital to Lloyd’s via London Bridge 2 PCC, calling the move a “pivotal moment in its growth journey.”

Terming it a “key strategic investment” Al Wathba Insurance’s Vice Chairman, H.E. Rashed Darwish Al Ketbi, and CFO, Muralikrishnan R, recently visited Lloyd’s of London to formally complete an investment in Cell 27 of the London Bridge 2 PCC vehicle.

This move enables Al Wathba Insurance to access returns from the Lloyd’s market in an efficient manner and is seen as an important component of the firm’s revenue diversification strategy, strengthening its access to international business.

Al Wathba Insurance expects that this allocation of capital to Lloyd’s through London Bridge 2 will enable it to access returns generated from an underlying portfolio of over $100 million in global property and casualty (P&C) premium, beginning from financial year 2026.

Shukri Almheiri, CEO of Al Wathba Insurance, commented, “This milestone investment will provide Al Wathba Insurance with a significant competitive edge. We will leverage the highly sophisticated risk solutions available through Lloyd’s of London, alongside capitalizing on the investment returns that the Lloyd’s market has historically delivered.”

Al Wathba Insurance was supported by reinsurance broker Lockton Re, in helping to structure the transaction and curate the portfolio of underlying Lloyd’s syndicates that the capital has been allocated to.

James Mackay, Lockton Re’s Head of Lloyd’s Capital, commented, “Many congratulations to Al Wathba National Insurance on this significant strategic development for the company.

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with the Al Wathba team. Their attention to detail, speed of response and quick decision making with Lloyd’s Syndicates was pivotal to their successful portfolio allocation and appreciated by all of us at Lockton Re in a highly competitive FAL season.

“My thanks also go out to the team at Lockton Re in London for all their amazing capital and financial modelling, without which this transaction would not have been possible.”

London Bridge 2 PCC has now been utilised by institutional investors to access returns from Lloyd’s, by asset managers supporting commitments to new syndicate launches, by Lloyd’s players looking for efficient reinsurance including through sponsorship of 144A catastrophe bonds, and by traditional re/insurers looking to access diversifying business returns from the market.

The structure is cementing its role as a key route for channelling capital into the Lloyd’s market, in order to access the market’s underwriting returns. London Bridge 2 PCC looks destined to continue becoming an ever-more important conduit to capital for underwriters and companies operating and setting up at Lloyd’s.