Goldman Sachs to enter p&c market

Goldman Sachs, a full-service global investment banking and securities firm, is entering into the global property and casualty insurance business.
Arrow Syndicate 1910 is to enter the Lloyds insurance market in January 2008, according to its managing agency Whittington Group.
Arrow Syndicate, which is a Goldman Sachs business, has obtained approval in principle from the Lloyds Franchise Board to begin writing for the 2008 year of account, Whittington Group announced in a statement.
Arrow Syndicate intends to underwrite a worldwide book of property catastrophe and other insurance and reinsurance business. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approval and other unspecified conditions.
The Arrow Syndicate is reported to be starting with an underwriting capacity of about US$65 million.
Commenting on the launch of the syndicate, Tom Milligan, a vice president at Goldman Sachs and the Arrow Syndicate Active Underwriter, said: We are excited by the prospect of expanding our existing (re)insurance platform to Lloyds.
Arrow Syndicate 1910 will provide Goldman Sachs with a first-class platform to leverage our financial strength, global franchise and experienced team to deliver client-focused reinsurance solutions.
In a statement, Whittington Group CEO Tony Hobrow, said his group was delighted to be working with Arrow to create their new turn-key Syndicate, which we believe will be a great success.
Our team, which has worked extensively with Arrow to get to this point, is now focused on securing final regulatory approval to enable Arrow to begin trading in the Lloyds market from Jan. 1, 2008.