The CEO of Aon UK and Chairman of Aon Benfield International has praised Guernsey's strong reputation in the captive insurance sector and highlighted the way in which global capital is attracted to the Island.

Dominic Christian was speaking at Aon's annual Guernsey Captive and Insurance Masterclass at Lloyd's of London last week.

Mr Christian said: "Aon recognises the need to promote the developments and innovation of global financial centres in order that professionals in the area of risk management can serve their clients more effectively and are aware of the wide-ranging capabilities that these centres have to offer. Guernsey has a strong reputation in the captive industry, and this is borne out by the fact that global capital is increasingly finding its way to the island."

Also speaking at the event was Fiona Le Poidevin, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance - the promotional agency for the Island's finance industry, who outlined how Guernsey continues to innovate alongside the insurance industry in order to remain Europe's largest captive domicile.

Miss Le Poidevin said: "The finance industry remains a challenging environment and therefore it is important that we continue to be fleet of foot right across the board, whether that is having a robust yet proportionate regulatory regime, introducing new legislation such as Limited Liability Partnerships, or diversifying the geographical origins of our business flows. Indeed, we have had a representative office in Shanghai since 2007, and today we are seeing more new business coming to the island from further afield, including not just Asia but also Latin America and, in the captive sector specifically, South Africa, Australia and Eastern Europe."

Representing the first time the event had been held at Lloyd's, the masterclass comprised presentations from a variety of speakers including Aon's clients, colleagues and service partners.

Helen-Clare Pope, Head of Insurable Risk at Tesco, which has a captive in Guernsey, discussed the supermarket giant's risk profile, global fronting programmes and emerging risks for retailers.

She said: "People talk about cyber risk as an emerging risk but it is not really 'emerging' - it has been around for quite some time. There is potential for captives to write these risks in the future."

Paul Sykes, Managing Director of Aon Insurance Managers in Guernsey, commented: "We are encouraged by the continued interest in the Aon Guernsey Master Class and we are delighted to have had the opportunity to hold the event at Lloyd's. Guernsey continues to be forward-thinking and dynamic, an example of this is the recent States of Guernsey IAIS legislative evaluations, which indicates that Guernsey is leading the way to becoming the model IAIS jurisdiction."

For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.

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