CNA Hardy opening EU subsidiary in Luxembourg

Specialty insurer CNA Hardy, a unit of CNA Financial Corp., said Tuesday that it will set up a new European subsidiary in Luxembourg, the latest insurer to set up offices on the Continent in response to Brexit.

The subsidiary is already being set up and is expected to be complete by early 2019, London-based CNA Hardy said in a statement.

The announcement comes on the heels of Monday’s statement by U.K. insurer RSA Insurance Group P.L.C., which also said it will be opening up a subsidiary in Luxembourg.

Sydney-based QBE Insurance Group Ltd. also announced it will set up a new subsidiary in Brussels in response to Brexit. The insurer said it has a branch in Belgium's capital city and will assign staff members to take positions in the subsidiary. QBE said London will continue to be the headquarters of QBE's European business.

“We are in the business of providing certainty for our customers,” David Brosnan, CEO of CNA Hardy, said in a statement “and in an increasingly uncertain political environment, we must ensure we act now to provide continuity to our employees, customers and brokers.”

Mr. Brosnan also said Luxembourg “is the optimum jurisdiction for our European Union base due to its geographic location between three of our Continental European offices, its stable economic and political environment and the professional approach of the Luxembourg regulator.”

 “We will be recruiting a local management team to be based in Luxembourg, comprising risk, finance and compliance functions,” he added.

Dino Robusto, chairman and CEO of CNA Financial, said that as a result of the United Kingdom’s referendum last year to leave the European Union, “we began planning to ensure we maintained our ability to write and service European Union business.”

Other insurers announcing plans to move to Luxembourg include FM Global, Hiscox Ltd. and American International Group Inc.