Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), a global insurance provider, has entered into a strategic partnership Insure Direct, a Dubai-based insurance brokerage, by acquiring a stake in the UAE firm.

The strategic partnership adds considerable international and specialist expertise to Insure Direct’s capabilities and will enable Insure Direct to satisfy significant and growing demand from clients in several key sectors, a statement said.

Insure Direct’s operations in Dubai, Bahrain and Qatar will be rebranded in due course, it added.

They will work closely with JLT's local operation in the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) as well as JLT operations elsewhere in the world. The agreement will substantially increase Insure Direct’s insurance capabilities in the region as well as provide the potential to capitalise on larger local wholesale, reinsurance and retrocession opportunities.

“This partnership will allow us to serve our existing clients even better,” said Kenneth Maw, president and CEO of Insure Direct.

“There is an excellent cultural and commercial alignment between the two businesses. Since its launch in 2000, Insure Direct has implemented a market-sensitive business development strategy that delivers innovative, cost-effective services to its client base.  Like JLT, we have used a client-led approach to business, which has earned us enduring relationships with local and international insurers and a large database of clients."

Peregrine Towneley, divisional managing director, JLT Specialty Mena, said: “The partnership is the latest step in JLT’s strategy of being able to service our existing clients wherever they may be in the world as well as providing local and regionally headquartered businesses with a world class choice of insurance adviser.”

“It shows our commitment to a region in which insurance penetration and awareness is growing and where capital is increasingly being attracted.  The UAE also provides a strategic gateway for investment into North and East Africa and positions JLT MEA well for future growth in the region,” Towneley added. – TradeArabia News Service