Cortina syndicate 1956, a new syndicate at the specialist Lloyd’s insurance and reinsurance marketplace that will provide dedicated, multi-year reinsurance capacity, has been launched by global broking group Aon and funds managed by large alternative asset manager, Blackstone.
The plan is for Cortina syndicate 1956 to commence underwriting from January 1 2027, having received Lloyd’s Council’s ‘in principle’ approval on October 16th 2026.
Aon says that Cortina will broaden the capital available to clients and support the continued growth and resilience of the reinsurance market, and will “complement traditional reinsurers” through a conventional ‘lead/follow’ approach, which means the syndicate will follow the terms and claims decisions set by the lead reinsurer(s) on each placement.
QBE will serve as Managing Agent of the syndicate, so will be responsible for its underwriting and governance.
Further, clients stand to benefit from the A+ financial strength rating of a Lloyd’s syndicate, and Aon confirms that for participating clients, the syndicate will write 3% of eligible property catastrophe excess-of-loss treaties and 5% of all other eligible treaties arranged by the broker.
It’s expected that Cortina’s efficient operating model will bring long-term institutional capital into the market and pass that efficiency on to cedents. Aon says that clients will benefit from the economic efficiencies of Cortina’s structure via a dividend based on the syndicate’s share of their reinsurance programmes. Cortina syndicate 1956 will offer following capacity on all eligible treaties, subject to a defined framework.
Greg Case, President and CEO, Aon, said: “As risks grow in scale and complexity, clients are looking for effective risk transfer solutions that consider all forms of available capital. Cortina is bringing additional, long-term capital through Blackstone together with QBE’s expertise and the strength of Lloyd’s to expand the market’s capacity to take risk, help close protection gaps and enable greater resilience, investment and growth.”
Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer, Blackstone, commented: “The partnership with Aon and QBE will broaden the pools of capital available to the reinsurance market, expanding capacity and strengthening resilience across market cycles. We remain strong supporters of continued innovation at Lloyd’s and are long-term investors in the sector. This partnership will help meet clients’ evolving needs while supporting the market’s long-term growth.”
Jason Harris, QBE International CEO, said: “Cortina is a first-of-its-kind model for reinsurance capacity at Lloyd’s. As managing agent, we bring deep, specialist underwriting expertise and our leading Lloyd’s capability to a syndicate that combines long-term institutional capital with stable, disciplined reinsurance capacity. It also gives us the opportunity to further grow our business through an innovative model. For QBE Re, the strategy remains unchanged: a continued focus on building long-term partnerships.”
Patrick Tiernan, Chief Executive, Lloyd’s, added: “Lloyd’s takes pride in being a market of firsts and in being the most capital-efficient marketplace in the world to connect capital to insurance risk. By structuring this transaction at Lloyd’s, we see the marriage of new long-term capital through our London Bridge 2 framework, with the highest underwriting and oversight standards to create long term value for clients, investors and the marketplace. This is total innovation in action.”
