UAE: BPL Global receives DIFC licence
Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Oct 2017
Specialist credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) broker BPL Global has received a brokerage licence to undertake insurance intermediation in the DIFC.
Prior to this, the broker’s activities in the DIFC have been limited to general marketing and business development since opening a representative office in July 2015, run by Ms Harriet Smith.
Ms Smith will continue to head the broker’s operations in the DIFC as Senior Executive Officer of the branch office, BPL Global said in a statement.
Ms Sian Aspinall, Managing Director of BPL Global, said: “Dubai is an important market for our multinational client base and, while we have had a local point-of-contact for them since 2015, this constitutes a significant step forward in terms of what we can do in the DIFC. So far our activities have focused on education. Now it is time for action, focused on clients old and new.”
Ms Smith said: “Having spent a couple of years speaking to potential clients of the market and developing relationships, it is clear that there is a growing demand for CPRI in the DIFC– from commodity traders, banks and corporates. Interestingly, they are not all current users of the CPRI product which speaks to the opportunity. Being able to service these clients’ needs locally – working with both local insurers and those in the London market – means not only a more personalised offering, but ultimately faster and better-priced coverage.”
The announcement expands BPL Global’s network of offices conducting insurance business to five – including those in London, Paris, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
BPL Global is an employee-owned broker established in 1983. It has over 90 staff and an annual premium volume of approximately US$400 million. M