The finance chief of AIA who quit the pan-Asia life insurer when it looked like it would be sold to the UK’s Prudential, plans to launch a Hong-Kong-based reinsurer that would seek to raise $500m-$1bn of capital.
Steve Roder’s new company would be a rare beast in an industry dominated by a handful of large European groups, the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and Bermudian companies. It aims to exploit a growing trend for more reinsurance business to be retained and written locally rather than finding its way to the traditional large reinsurance centres.
Mr Roder plans to take the same finance chief role in the as-yet-unnamed firm, while Franz Josef Hahn, who ran Swiss Re’s China business for a decade, is set to be chief executive. Eckart Roth, formerly global risk officer for White Mountains Re, will be chief underwriting officer.