Catlin Insurance Company Ltd. (CICL), the Bermuda insurance underwriting subsidiary of Catlin Group Ltd., is set to open a London office.

In a release yesterday the company said it had applied to the UK Financial Services Authority for approval to establish a UK Branch Office.

The establishment of the UK branch of CICL, which is subject to FSA approval, will allow the Catlin Group to offer brokers and their clients a choice of three underwriting platforms: a Lloyd's syndicate, a Bermuda-based insurance company and a UK-domiciled branch of the Bermuda company, the company said in their release.

CICL-UK is an integral element of the Catlin Group's strategy to diversify its trading platforms to offer maximum flexibility to brokers and their clients. A.M. Best Company yesterday said the formation of a new UK branch was in line with A.M. Best's business development and growth expectations for both CICL and Lloyd's Syndicate 2003. CICL has a financial strength rating of A (Excellent) with a stable outlook. The branch will write business in parallel with Lloyd's Syndicate 2003, which is managed by Catlin Underwriting Agencies Ltd. and has a Best's Syndicate Rating of A (Excellent) with a stable outlook. Some classes of business will also be written 100 percent. "A.M. Best will continue to monitor the development of the new branch," said the ratings agency.

The Caitlin release said that CICL-UK, will be managed by Andreas Loucaides, will underwrite speciality lines of insurance and reinsurance attaching from January 1, 2004. Much of this business will be written in parallel with Lloyd's Syndicate 2003, which is managed by Catlin Underwriting Agencies Ltd. (CUAL), also a subsidiary of the Catlin Group.