New Beazley Division to Focus on Political Risks and Contingency Business

London, February 11 2008

Beazley Group plc has established a new division, the Political and Contingency Group (PCG), to focus on political and contingency risks, which have become an important component of the company’s business since Beazley first entered these markets in 1997.

Until now, political and contingency risks have been underwritten within Beazley’s Specialty Lines division.  Henceforth Specialty Lines will focus exclusively on professional and management liability lines.  Adrian Lewers, who headed the political risks and contingency team within Specialty Lines, will lead the new PCG division.

“Political and contingency risks are lines of business that are very well suited to our operating model at Beazley,” said Beazley Group Chief Executive Andrew Beazley. 

“The risks are often complex and rapidly evolving. They usually require carefully tailored cover – they are anything but commodity risks.  This calls for deep underwriting expertise and length of experience – Adrian and his team have both.

“Political and contingency risks are classic Lloyd’s lines of business,” Mr. Beazley added.  “Indeed, they were largely developed at Lloyd’s.  It’s a testament to the expertise of our underwriters that, in ten years, they have turned the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd’s into widely respected lead markets for these classes of business.  Today, we lead 71% of the political risks and contingency business by premium volume that we underwrite.”

Beazley insures both traditional political risks such as nationalization, expropriation and currency inconvertibility, and an increasing range of political violence risks, including terrorism.  Beazley also specializes in short- and medium-term trade credit and structured credit in emerging markets.  The contingency account comprises principally event cancellation risks, ranging from small scale trade shows to multi-million pound sporting and entertainment events.  Here, too, terrorism – or the threat of terrorism – can be a factor.

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