Liberty enters agriculture and weather market

Lloyd’s insurer Liberty Syndicates is entering the agricultural and weather reinsurance markets after hiring a new team of specialist underwriters.

Jean-Christophe Garaix has taken up the position of class underwriter and will head up this new line of business.

Operating from Liberty Syndicates’ Paris office, the new team will underwrite agricultural and weather reinsurance programmes on a worldwide basis including North America, Latin America and Asia.

Liberty Syndicates’ chief executive Nick Metcalf said: “The addition of agriculture reinsurance to our aviation, trade credit and political risk insurance (PRI) reinsurance business enhances our offering and increases our position as a must see market.”

The group’s chief underwriting officer Matthew Moore said: “The team is highly-skilled and experienced in the area of agricultural and weather reinsurance and their specialist knowledge is a strong addition to the syndicate. With both the agricultural and weather reinsurance markets taking hold in developing economies, we see good opportunities for continued growth in this line of business.”