The natural catastrophe pool being set by General Insurance Corporation (GIC) for insurance and reinsurance companies in Africa and Asia will have an initial capacity of $500 million. The pool will be functional by April 1, 2010.
GIC Re, the state-owned national reinsurance company, has been entrusted with creating the pool, to be called ‘FAIR Natural Catastrophe Pool’, by a voluntary industry organisation, the Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR). GIC has been given the responsibility to create and manage the pool for members of FAIR.
“We are in talks with members of several countries and will start with 20-30 members. We are looking to make the pool operational by April 1, 2010,” said Yogesh Lohiya, chairman and managing director, GIC. He added that each member would have to put in a minimum of $50 million to become a part of the pool. GIC will have 5 per cent stake as the manager of the fund.
The re-insurer is expanding its international footprint by entering into Malaysian and South African markets. It has applied for a branch licence in Malaysia and will later go to Johannesburg. GIC Re has a branch in Dubai and a representative office in Moscow.
