Brexit forces Lloyd’s of London to open new Brussels subsidiary

Lloyd’s of London, the world’s biggest insurance market, says it will set up a new European subsidiary in Brussels to avoid losing business when the UK leaves the EU.

The 329-year-old insurance market confirmed the plan, which it said would allow it to continue underwriting insurance policies from all 27 EU and three EEA states after the UK left the union, as it released its latest annual results.

The company’s continental business generates 11 per cent of its premiums.

“A subsidiary office will be opened in Brussels with the intention that it will be operational for the January 1 renewal season in 2019,” it said.

Speaking to the BBC following the announcement, Lloyd’s of London’s chief executive Inga Beale said Brussels had certain key attractions: “What we were after was some jurisdiction that had a really robust reputation for regulation, we also wanted to be able to access talent and we wanted really good accessibility.

“Brussels came out top of our list.”

However, she stressed that the Brussels office was an additional base, simply an EU subsidiary, and that the number of jobs affected was less than 100.

The company has around 700 London employees, but the market it runs involves more than 30,000.

The new Brussels subsidiary will have its own board and employ about 60 staff initially, including people already working in Germany and Italy. Some 10 to 20 staff will be based in the Belgian capital at the start, including the chief executive of the new business.

Beale said the “odd job” might move from London – for example, people who have European roles.

She explained that Lloyd’s had to act now to ensure its Brussels subsidiary was up and running by the middle of next year. But, she added, if passporting rights were guaranteed, “we would not require an EU subsidiary”.