Page 17 - The Insurance Times June 2020

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UK personal lines insur- The impact of COVID-19 is also ex- over 1,000 employees and has 86 of-
pected to have a significant impact on fices across India.
ance to experience large the distribution of products. The affin- "We are glad to have Sharad on board

declines in 2020 due to ity channel, in particular, is expected as we plan to drive the next phase of
COVID-19, says GlobalData to see its share decline. development of Universal Sompo. Un-
der Sharad's leadership, company aims
The personal lines market in the UK Pearce concludes: “The affinity
will contract in 2020 as a result of channel’s prominence within the travel to develop a capability to deliver more
COVID-19 impacting a range of differ- market will see its share of distribution innovative products, re-engineered dis-
ent lines of business. Travel insurance fall, while we expect to see the special- tribution architecture and significant
will be the worst affected personal lines ist advice provided by brokers become improvements in productivity," said
product in the UK, says GlobalData, a increasingly important. This is espe- Padmaja Chunduru, Managing Director
leading data and analytics company. cially true within commercial insur- & CEO, Indian Bank.
ance, where COVID-19 has highlighted On his appointment, Sharad said, "It
GlobalData’s UK Insurance Market Es- the importance of understanding ex- has been a fulfilling journey in the gen-
sentials: COVID-19 Update report fore- actly what risks businesses are exposed eral insurance sector wherein we have
cast suggests that the gross written to.” achieved many milestones together
premiums (GWP) will contract by 48.7. and will definitely achieve many more.
GlobalData expects it to be a short- I am thankful to the board of Univer-
term hit; however, it forecasts strong Universal Sompo appoints sal Sompo for having faith in me and I
GWP in 2021 and 2022. Subsequently, Sharad Mathur as its Man- am looking forward to working with all
the growth should then return to more stakeholders to accelerate the
normal levels in 2023. aging Director & CEO company's expansion. Together, we
Sharad Mathur has been appointed as will leverage our ability to innovate,
Daniel Pearce, Senior Insurance Ana- Managing Director & CEO of Universal with sharp customer focus which will
lyst at GlobalData, comments: “Trips Sompo General Insurance Company remain at the heart of our DNA as we
abroad by UK residents have been Limited w.e.f. 2nd June 2020. He will continue to build a great service plat-
largely on hold since the lockdown lead the company's overall operations form for our customers and channel
measures came into effect. Two-week and report to the Board of Directors. partners."
quarantines periods for those entering Sharad is a seasoned business leader "India is a rapidly-growing market for
the UK from almost all foreign coun- and brings over 23 years of extensive our business in Asia. Sharad's under-
tries will limit any hope of a recovery experience and a strong track record standing of Indian market and general
in the summer season. We do expect of building scale and profitable general insurance business, combined with his
the market to return to growth in 2021 insurance businesses. expertise in sustainable business ex-
and 2022, with large GWP increases in Universal Sompo is a joint venture be- pansion and digital technologies, will
both the years. A combination of an tween Indian Bank, Indian Overseas be a huge asset for Universal Sompo,"
increase in the number of trips abroad Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dabur Invest- said Daniel Neo, Regional Chief Execu-
and the loss of the EHIC system will ments Corporation and Sompo Japan tive Officer of Sompo Holdings (Asia)
play a vital role.” Insurance. Universal Sompo employs Pte. Ltd. R

The Insurance Times, June 2020 17