Insurance provider Apsley Specialty has joined forces with Lloyd’s Pembroke Syndicate 4000 to provide capacity for its insurance offering to the alternative asset management sector.
Pembroke, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ironshore Inc, operates as a syndicate within the Lloyd’s of London insurance market and is a provider of specialty insurance coverages, including those pertaining to financial institutions and, in particular, asset managers.
The Alternative Investment Management Directive (AIFMD) now dictates that many hedge fund managers must, for the first time, have professional indemnity insurance coverage in place. Apsley is the first firm in Europe to have designed an AIFMD compliant insurance offering to the alternative asset management sector in Europe.
Apsley provides professional indemnity insurance for alternative asset managers covering potential risks created from professional negligence. With a greater level of industry due diligence and the fact that cover is now mandated, Apsley’s insurance policies will protect those AIFMs keen to respond to investor demand and the new AIFMD regulations.
The business is headed up by executive director James Lawrie who draws on more than 10 years of relevant experience with time at major asset allocator Towers Watson and institutionally backed hedge fund Caliburn Capital Partners.
Baronsmead, the specialist insurance broker, will provide expertise and will act as an exclusive distributor for Apsley.
Lawrie says: “The new initiative we have signed with Pembroke marks an important step forward for Apsley and significantly increases our ability to service the alternative asset management industry. AIFMD sets out for the first time prescriptive limits of liability which alternative asset managers should buy and the relationship with Pembroke will allow us to transact with a larger pool of the alternative asset management market.”
Chris Brown, director of Pembroke Managing Agency Limited, says: "We are committed to providing superior insurance solutions that meet the exposure demands of clients. Apsley's specialist expertise in the sector along with their analytical approach to risk assessment is philosophically aligned with ours. We believe this partnership offers clients a product priced accurately against the risk profile, which provides integrity through a market leading integrated claims service."
