Major Australian financial services giant Macquarie Group is joining in on the trend to tap into the insurance market with a unique Canadian acquisition, and has announced it will take its insurance broking services to London in April.

With many rumours floating around the market about Macquarie’s new-found interest in insurance brokers, its acquisition of Toronto-based Insurance Pay – the third-biggest premium funder in Canada – comes at the same time as it launches a new insurance broker advisory service in the UK.

Macquarie Relationship Banking Associate Director and head of Insurance Broking Services Paul Cilia says the offshore expansion will benefit Australian insurance brokers by providing them with international expansion opportunities.

He told Sunrise Exchange News says it is too early to discuss whether any particular insurance brokers are interested in finance for foreign mergers and acquisitions.

He says the move is a natural fit for the bank. “We’ve been working in this environment for years so it’s a natural move.”