General Re clears final hurdle

General Re, a part of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway family of companies, has received the final approval — known as R3 — from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to open a reinsurance branch in Mumbai. Gen Re will focus was primarily on the life and health sector. It will continue contributing and expanding in this segment while simultaneously exploring opportunities to grow its presence in the property/ casualty reinsurance market in India which is a huge business opportunity waiting to be harnessed. Venkatesh N. Chakravarty will assume the role of chief executive officer and lead the Gen R branch. He will also hold operational responsibility for the life/ health business. The property/ casualty business will be headed by Nighat Khan. Winfried Heinen, Chairman of the Executive Board of Directors of General Reinsurance AG, said, “establishing a reinsurance branch in India is an important milestone for us. We firmly believe in the great potential of the Indian market, especially for life and health insurance products. With Venkatesh as our local head we have an extraordinarily professional and capable team in place to lead this important move. I am excited about the opportunities on the horizon.” “The new structure will enable us to provide technical and risk management services locally. Beyond classic reinsurance of traditional lines of business, the development of innovative life and health insurance products with and for our clients is at the core of our value proposition. We are now ideally positioned to meet the demands and challenges of the market,” Chakravarty said.