Arch establishes new reinsurance unit in Dubai

Arch Reinsurance Ltd. has formed a unit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to provide cedents in the region direct access to Arch Re paper, which is rated higher than its existing reinsurance unit in the region.

Bermuda-based Arch Re said it has formed Arch Underwriters (Gulf) Ltd., which will be based in the Dubai International Financial Center and will have underwriting authority for Arch Re, which has an A+ rating from Standard & Poor’s Financial Services L.L.C., Arch Re said Monday in a statement.

The move comes nearly two years after Arch Re, which is a unit of Arch Capital Group Ltd., bought Gulf Reinsurance Ltd. in Dubai, which has an A- rating from S&P. All Gulf Re’s existing clients will be provided with the opportunity to renew with the new underwriting entity and will be serviced by the current Gulf Re underwriting team, the statement said.

“It made sense to provide Arch Re’s A+ rated balance sheet directly to our cedents, given Arch Re’s 100% ownership of Gulf Re,” said Shankar Majrekar, AUGL’s senior executive officer, in the statement.