Industrial insurance firm Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has signalled its intention to establish a significant local presence in Sub-Saharan Africa with the appointment of Delphine Maidou as CEO of its regional subsidiary, AGCS of Africa Pty.
Maidou, currently AGCS’s head of market management in Canada, will be based in the company’s Johannesburg office from 3 September, and will lead its planned expansion across the region, taking overall responsibility for AGCS business in both South Africa and the wider Sub-Saharan zone.
AGCS plans to more than double its local team over the next three years to support this move. This investment will strengthen AGCS’s regional services so that all African clients and brokers will have access to its full range of products including property, marine cargo, general aviation, engineering, liability, financial lines and global programs.
AGCS also benefits from the already established presence of Allianz Africa which has offices in 11 sub-Saharan countries, including Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana and Cameroon, and with which AGCS will collaborate closely in these markets.
AGCS estimates that the South African non-life market alone will generate a premium of about R60 billion (€5.8 billion) by the end of 2012 and that the corporate segment is currently worth about R6 billion (€580 million) of the whole non-life market, with other local markets growing as their economies expand.
AGCS forecasts that the Sub-Saharan economic area will grow by more than 5 percent over 2012 and 2013 and that this growth trend will continue.
Andreas Berger, AGCS chief regions & markets officer commented: “Given the region’s abundant natural resources and the plans to significantly invest into infrastructure projects we expect this to continue and AGCS intends to be part of this growth.”
Delphine Maidou added: “Africa is a relationship-driven market that cannot be run without being on the ground. The continent is a complex cluster of independent markets requiring local knowledge in each territory. Our model operates by working with local and global brokers and by having active teams on the ground in the countries where the business is generated.”