SIRC: Singapore at the ‘epicentre’ of Lloyd’s growth, CEO Patrick Tiernan says

November 4 2025 by

Asia lies at the heart of Lloyd’s growth plans over the next few years, with considerable opportunities for a number of specialty markets, including construction, marine cargo and contingent business interruption underwriters, according to CEO Patrick Tiernan.

Tiernan was delivering the keynote opening address at this year’s 21st Singapore International Reinsurance Conference (SIRC) in what was also his first major speech in Asia since becoming Lloyd’s new CEO in May.

“When I think of Asia it’s simple for me because I can just use the rule of 10,” he told delegates.

“Lloyd’s GWP in Asia Pacific is about US$10 billion. We are growing – the compound annual growth rate over the last three to four years is just under 10%. Singapore represents about 10% of our presence here, which is a billion US dollars.

“And the region represents roughly 15% of everything we do at Lloyd’s. It is our fastest growing region by quite a clip and Singapore is of course at the epicentre of it.”

He said that there are now 16 managing agents on the Lloyd’s Singapore platform, with strong growth and strong combined ratios over the past couple of years, though he conceded that this has also attracted more competition.

Nonetheless, he presented a confident assessment of the opportunities that Asia can provide for Lloyd’s, stressing that London and Singapore can continue to develop a mutually beneficial working relationship.

“There is much room to build beyond the core … Singapore isn’t a branch of London, it’s Lloyd’s regional hub: a bridge connecting Asia’s biggest economies with global capital,” he said. “Our ambition is to make Lloyd’s more efficient, more relevant, and more confident in tackling new forms of risk in the region.”

More to be done

It is not all rosy in the garden, however, with Tiernan also accepting that Lloyd’s can make greater strides to facilitate growth in Asia, adding that “operationally we do much more, we know that … we can simplify access, we can speed up processing, and we can build the digital tools necessary to match how the region does business”.

“Here in Singapore, we are working with the [Monetary Authority of Singapore] and others to align on regulation, on data, and on digital enablement. And that’s how we’ll strive to make placement faster, cheaper and safer, and how we make Lloyd’s the market feel local and not distant,” he added.

“What we want is partnership: your local flavour, your local knowledge, blended with the capital efficiency and structuring power that Lloyd’s provides.”

He noted, “as we all know” that Asia is very far from homogenous, and is instead “an extraordinary mosaic of different economies on different growth trajectories, each with its own regulatory framework, its own market maturity and its own insurance culture. But if we get the balance right, we get something really powerful: an ecosystem that combines financial strength and global each with global insight”.

Tiernan was also bullish about the wider prospects for economic growth in Asia, noting that at present the region provides some 42% of global GDP, but that by 2030, that figure is projected to rise to some 52%, with the construction of new data centres, roads, ports and rail projects all giving rise to potential insurance clients.

He also suggested that the growing importance of trade routes in the region also provides considerable opportunities for Lloyd’s Asia in a number of areas, including marine cargo and contingent business interruption insurance, taking into account the current difficulties caused by political instability.

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