Markel expands European presence targeting SMEs

Markel Corporation has established a new European office as part of its strategy to expand and scale the company’s global footprint in key specialty insurance markets.

The specialty insurer has opened a new branch office in Paris to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the French market.

Markel will partner with a regional network of independent brokers to offer three core product lines tailored for French SMEs: professional indemnity, cyber risk, and directors and officers liability.

The new office will be led by Franziska Geier as country manager, and Laura Tinturier as underwriting director, who plan to drive growth by leveraging local broker relationships and simplifying liability insurance for SMEs with easy-to-understand wordings and streamlined documents, processes, and website.

Markel currently has operations in Spain (established in 2005), the Netherlands (established in 2011), and Germany (established in 2013).

Geier said: “At Markel, we’ve learned that success in new markets hinges on our ability to tailor our expertise and offerings to the unique local needs of our customers and brokers. We know that doing business in Paris will not be the same as London, Munich, New York, or Singapore. And while we can make use of the lessons and best practices that we have learned around the world, we are ultimately a global company powered by local relationships and expertise.”

Geier added: “We are looking forward to meeting the French brokers with whom we will work hand-in-hand to provide customers with quality, tailor-made insurance products.”

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