London, 28th April 2021: Asta, the leading third-party managing agent at Lloyd’s, announces that CFC Underwriting’s new Lloyd’s syndicate 1988 has been granted ‘in principle’ approval, and will commence underwriting on 1 July 2021, subject to completion of the Lloyd’s “making it happen” process.

CFC is a pioneer in cyber insurance and is the largest independent MGA in the UK with 20 years of experience in addressing emerging risks and digital economy business. Syndicate 1988 will support the MGA to bring US$140 million of business into Lloyd’s, supplementing the material volume of premium already supported by existing syndicates. The syndicate will write a fixed proportion of CFC’s established $700 million specialist portfolio, which includes cyber, intellectual property (IP) and technology E&O, alongside Fintech, eHealth and esports. The analytics-heavy syndicate will use its proprietary technology platform, supported by in-house data science teams and threat-intelligence capabilities for rapid product and application development, appetite and pricing agility.

Dave Walsh, CFC founder and CEO, said: “Our focus on emerging classes of insurance, as well as micro and SME businesses that would otherwise not come to London, will bring a unique offering to the market. We’re grateful for Asta’s support in helping us to establish a syndicate at Lloyd’s, which is the best market in the world for our infrastructure-light and technology-oriented business.”

Lloyd’s chief executive officer, John Neal, commented: “We are delighted to welcome CFC as a new entrant to the market and are confident their innovative new platform can make a positive contribution to our Future at Lloyd’s ambitions.”

Julian Tighe, chief executive officer of Asta, added: “We’re proud to partner with CFC to develop an insurance-as-a-service model of the future. Their ethos, strategy and focus on technology embodies the spirit of the Lloyd’s blueprint initiatives and the addition of another new syndicate to Asta’s stable is testament to our continued success in bringing innovation and modernisation to the market.”

The Council of Lloyd’s granted ‘in principle’ approval on 30 March 2021.