The merger of shipping insurers North P&I and Standard Club will create new opportunities in Asia and the US, the mutual’s Newcastle-based boss has said.
Speaking to BusinessLive following completion of the move, which creates one of the world’s largest maritime insurers, NorthStandard managing director Paul Jennings said the coming together of the two established insurers would also bring opportunities in the growing renewable energy market. Mr Jennings, who was managing director Newcastle Quayside-based North and now, along with former Standard Club boss Jeremy Grose, leads the 700-strong firm that insures one in five of the world’s ships, said the two mutuals brought complementary geographic strength and products across core ocean-going insurance and “diversified” business.
He said: “Standard are bringing with them an offshore and renewables section which we really haven’t had at North at all, and they’re also coming in with something called ‘strike and delay’ - which offers protection against delays caused by shore-side strikes - which is another line we haven’t done at North before.
