Global independent financial advisory firm DeVere Group has received approval for a captive insurance licence from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).
The business will be run via a newly-established subsidiary called White Knight Limited, the group said.
White Knight will be led by DeVere chairman Peter Hobbs alongside Peter Moffat, who previously worked at the GFSC and Bank of England, and UK corporate lawyer David Moore.
The company’s insurance management mandate has been assigned to Alternative Risk Management, a Guernsey-based independent manager.
The advisory firm said that White Knight will start to underwrite professional indemnity (PI) and other internal risks for DeVere subsidiaries around the world.
A spokesperson for DeVere told International Adviser that plans to extend cover beyond the firm’s subsidiaries may be reviewed in the future.
‘Take firmer control’
Nigel Green, founder and chief executive of the DeVere Group, said: “This represents a further positive development for DeVere, which continually seeks to grow and adapt in order to meet evolving market conditions.
“One of the drivers behind this move is that, in recent years, particularly in the area of PI cover, the group and its subsidiaries have seen premiums climbing rapidly. This has made expense predictions for this cover somewhat difficult with some premiums doubling and trebling over the last few years.
“We, therefore, decided to take firmer control of the matter and will start to underwrite PI and selective other internal risks for its subsidiaries around the world.”
He added: “The group was well-minded that White Knight should more than meet its minimum capital requirements (MCR) as well as its prescribed capital requirement (PCR) to ensure stability.”
DeVere said this is the first time it applied for and obtained an insurance company licence in northern Europe.
