Why Australia is vital to HDI’s global expansion
Why Australia is vital to HDI’s global expansion | Insurance Business Asia
Construction & Engineering
Why Australia is vital to HDI’s global expansion
New Dubai office gets Australian oversight
Construction & Engineering
By
Daniel Wood
In July, HDI Global SE (HDI) announced the opening of a new office in Dubai. HDI is a giant, worldwide commercial and specialty lines insurer, traditionally focused on Europe and headquartered in Hannover. This German city is closer to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) than Sydney and yet the Dubai announcement was made from the NSW capital.
HDI executives told Insurance Business that Dubai’s Sydney orientation is part of HDI’s wider strategy to evolve into a more globally focused insurer.
The new office in the Middle East is overseen by Stefan Feldmann (pictured right), head of HDI Global Asia-Pacific. Feldmann runs HDI’s operation across Asia-Pacific, including in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Willem van Wyk (pictured left), is senior executive officer of the firm’s new Dubai office. Van Wyk is a former Allianz CEO with more than two decades of insurance industry experience in the UAE and other Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. The vast MENA region encompasses nations as diverse as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Malta and Morocco.
Why manage Dubai from Australia?
Feldmann said the main reason HDI’s Australia operation is overseeing the Dubai expansion is because Australia has experience setting up new operations and a culture suited to new ventures.
For example, he said, HDI’s division Down Under supported the establishment of the firm’s Singapore operation and continues to oversee it.
“The board has recognized that we are in a good position to support these units with our expertise, mindset and proximity, so in collaboration with Singapore they felt we are better suited than if this was run out of the home office function [Hannover headquarters],” said Feldmann.
The new Dubai branch, he said, is an MGA of the Singapore operation. HDI has also made its Australia operation, said Feldmann, a referral desk for Dubai’s property and engineering projects because of the considerable size of its “authority levels.”
Asia expansion
Van Wyk said the Dubai operation is a key part of HDI’s wider expansion plans across Asia. He said that operation is linked to Australia because that’s where a “growth mindset” was fostered by HDI’s board, with a focus on innovation and proactivity
“The culture that we created in Australia, I think, is quite unique,” he said.
He said this is part of HDI evolving into a strong global insurer to “better serve our markets”.
Insurance opportunities in property and renewables
Van Wyk said HDI’s initial insurance focus areas in Dubai will be property, engineering and construction business.
“If you look at the growth and the investment that’s happening, not just here [in the UAE], but also across the region, and especially in Saudi Arabia and through its modernization program – there are a significant construction projects in the pipeline,” said van Wyk.
Van Wyk said considerable international capital is going into renewable energy projects across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the region.
Can HDI help steer MENA countries to more renewables?
HDI pitches itself as an innovator in the renewables space with offerings that include advanced data analytics and climate modelling. It could help steer Dubai’s sustainability efforts.
Regardless, many economic leaders in the United States and Europe see enormous financial opportunities across this region.
“Economically, the growth rate here is solid and often higher than what we find in developed countries,” said Van Wyk.
A growing reinsurance market
With that growth, he sees considerable insurance opportunities. Over the next decade Van Wyk expects the region to grow in global importance as a reinsurance market.
“Our focus will be mostly on the Middle East business but the DIFC is becoming a real reinsurers’ hub for business beyond this as well,” said Van Wyk.
Are you part of an Australia-based insurance operation with business in MENA countries? Tell us what you’re up to below
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