Canopius

A specialty insurer and reinsurer with its main base in London, running Lloyd's Syndicate 4444 and serving clients in more than 130 countries.

About Canopius

Canopius is a specialty insurance and reinsurance group. It writes cover for a long list of risks, including cyber, financial lines, energy, marine, construction, healthcare, credit and political risk, crisis management, mining, fine art and specie, and property. A large part of its business goes through Lloyd's Syndicate 4444, one of the largest syndicates in the Lloyd's market. It also has operations in the United States, Bermuda and Asia-Pacific.

In its own words, Canopius's purpose is to help clients be resilient in the face of their unique and evolving challenges. It lists six values: empowered, collaborative, ambitious, accountable, proactive and inclusive. Its strategy is built on six pillars, one of which is people and culture, and it describes its people as its greatest asset.

Canopius began in 2003, when a small Lloyd's syndicate was bought out from Trenwick by its management and given the Canopius name. Its name is a nod to Edward Lloyd's coffee house. Syndicate 4444 was created in 2004, and it grew through further syndicate purchases in 2006, expansion to Bermuda and Singapore, and later offices in the United States and Australia. It is private-equity backed, with Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance as a major shareholder. In 2022 it began a global transformation and now organises its underwriting into four regional hubs, one of which is the UK.

The UK hub is based in London at Floor 29, 22 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4BQ. Its other offices are in Sydney, Melbourne, Bermuda, Shanghai, Labuan, Singapore, Chicago and New York, so a London job can involve working with colleagues in several time zones. We did not find a published UK headcount or other UK sites.

The site names people who have won industry awards, including a claims professional, a legal counsel and several underwriters, as well as recognition for its cyber and claims teams. These are the company's own announcements. The roles that make the business run include underwriters who focus on one class, such as cyber or marine, claims specialists, actuaries and portfolio analysts, legal, finance, risk and compliance staff, and data and technology teams. It says its approach combines data-driven analysis with practical innovation, so comfort with data is useful. Its factsheets show the classes in more detail, such as healthcare, crisis management and trade and political risk, which is a good way to pick a specialism that interests you.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Specialty cover through Syndicate 4444 across more than 20 classes.', 'title': "Lloyd's insurance"}
• {'desc': 'Property, casualty, marine, aviation and other treaty reinsurance.', 'title': 'Reinsurance'}
• {'desc': 'Delegated underwriting and tailored portfolio solutions.', 'title': 'Specialist programmes'}

Key facts

• Founded 2003 as a Lloyd's syndicate management buyout; Syndicate 4444 created in 2004
• London base at 22 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4BQ
• Serves clients in more than 130 countries (own claim)
• Six values: empowered, collaborative, ambitious, accountable, proactive, inclusive

Website: www.canopius.com