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An American division, in which many worked at night, when we would had gone home, as well as specialists for International Liability risks, Marine Hull Insurance, Transport Insurance, Aviation, and Re-insurance. A broad spectrum of insurance specialties was being covered by our firm not like anything I had seen in Hamburg. The largest client of Cayzer Steel Bowater was the Sultan of Oman - Qaboos bin Said Al Sai, Heir to the Dynasty in the 14. Generation. He rules the country in form of an absolute monarchy and insures practically his whole country - palaces, hospitals, public buildings as well as the “Royal Navy of Oman” (my god what an empire existed once and how loyal were it's descendants) including the Royal Super Yacht "Loaloat Al Behar" - a Yacht of 104 m loa - and unique in the world of insurance - the “Royal Airforce” of Oman with their fighter jets of the type SEPECAT JAGUAR, of which one at least got lost each year during reconnaissance or training missions. This was being paid for by insurers without complaint against an adequate raise of the premium to cover at least two jets over a period of 24 months. It was a number game, with a “no loose” situation for the insurers. The Sultan had a close affinity with the UK having been a cadet at the military academy in Sandhurst -
as I will learn later, a symptom of the many lasting links of the British Empire, that still exist in our times. Once a year he travelled to England and took his lodging at the Grosvenor House Hotel in order to negotiate in person his insurance arrangements.
There he resided in several suites with his entourage consisting of several wives, one Eunuch and a bunch of more or less competent advisors.
His sole counterpart on side of CSB was our Managing Director James Duck, who marveled in the unique relationship. As required, Duck took one or the other director to the audiences to cover the specialties of insurance, he, himself was not so sure of, which seemed to be the majority to us. Over the years a nearly friendly relationship had developed between the two unequal business partners and the Sultan had blind confidence, that CSB at all times would negotiate the most favorable premium terms for him - true to the principle of "uberrimae fide', which was interpreted at liberty by his insurance partners. This portfolio was sacred for CSB - the biggest premium earner - at the time in excess of GBP 20 Million - the envy of other brokers in the Market. There was an implied condition though, to this relationship, that was that CSB would under no circumstances employ a director of Jewish descendant and no Jewish business would be entertained. An irrevocable condition of our relationship to the Sultanate. I remember a communication with the Sultan’s office in Oman, which by error was signed MAX, which triggered an immediate query, as to who this MAX was. Thanks god, we found an elaborate answer, that Max was a first name of a German director who recently joined the ranks. This becalmed the Sultanate and I was named thereafter internally “Harry Max” and Terence could keep his job, which for a second was on the line - such were the rules imposed by the Arabs.
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