In its second aviation market initiative in less than a month, QBE has decided to form an aviation underwriting syndicate within its Limit managing agency at Lloyd’s.

The active underwriter of the syndicate will be Emilio Di Silvio, a recognised industry leader in the aviation sector.

The new syndicate is expected to begin underwriting from October. The provisional business plan, subject to Lloyd’s approval, will include a portfolio of general aviation, major airlines, products and airport business.

Limit, which is the Lloyd’s arm of QBE Europe, manages four existing Lloyd’s syndicates.

European Operations CEO Steven Burns says Limit has been a leading London market aviation reinsurer for some years. “While the aviation sector has clearly benefitted from unusually low loss activity in recent years, we believe the market is now showing much greater stability and underwriting discipline than it has historically.”

QBE Central Europe recently acquired Nordic Aviation Insurance in Denmark. Completion of this acquisition is subject to approval by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority.

This acquisition expands QBE’s presence in Central Europe and the Baltic. This currently includes eight general insurance businesses in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Moldova, Macedonia, Slovakia and the Ukraine.