Hallelujah! After months and months of considerations, Lloyd's has finally decided to open a Moscow rep office. Here is what Keith Parker, who is believed to take up a leading (if not the leading) role in the Russian unit, told our journalists:
"The office will perform purely a marketing role for Lloyd's. <It> will open mid-2011, subject to receiving regulatory approvals and <solving> operational issues".
Exactly what is meant by "a marketing role"? As some London guys explained to me in Baden-Baden, an office that represents Lloyd's interests in a market is somewhat of an "embassy". The unit is in no way connected to any specific syndicate, its staff does not sign or facilitate contracts with local players or promote the local market among British players. So, however disappointing this may sound to Russian insurers, duties of the future Moscow office will be limited to performing marketing surveys, establishing contacts with the Russian regulator - and arranging Lord Levene's visits to our country.
Does it mean that mid-term the British interest in Russian risks will remain at the current, very modest, level? Well, clearly, a Moscow office will be a comforting sign to doubting London guys. It will signal that Russia is a more or less safe place to do business. Something like "No, you will not meet bears in the streets, or be forced to wear babushkas and perform cossack dances to get good risks".
However, it's equally clear that the Lloyd's rep unit alone will hardly attract much London capacity to Russia - that's the job for local players and the regulator. So far, we hope the British (and, more generally, Western) interest will grow thanks to newly introduced compulsory TPL of owners of dangerous industrial objects, updated rules in the agro segment, and the looming introduction of compulsory fire and related perils.
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