Africa Specialty Risks
Specialty reinsurance and insurance capacity for African and emerging markets
Overview
Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) is a specialty lines MGA and reinsurance platform providing underwriting capacity across property, casualty, and specialty lines for clients in 54 African countries and other emerging markets. The company distributes through regional brokers and insurer partners, operating as a Lloyd's coverholder via Syndicate 2454 -- the first Africa-focused Lloyd's syndicate, launched in 2024.
ASR underwrites across property, energy, political risk, trade credit, aviation, marine, casualty, parametric, and cyber lines, with reinsurance capacity sourced through Lloyd's and its Bermuda and Mauritius balance sheets. The Syndicate 2454 arrangement provides access to the Lloyd's market rating and regulatory framework, with the South Africa office added in November 2025.
Founded in 2020 by Mikir Shah and backed initially by Helios Investment Partners, ASR has grown to 163 employees across six global offices. In June 2026 the company announced a majority stake investment by Vitruvian Partners, pending regulatory approval, with a forecast of USD 500M in gross written premiums for 2026. The team represents 20 nationalities with 75% multilingual staff, and has derisked USD 51 billion of African investments since inception.
Products & Services
Property Insurance
Construction and general property coverage for African and developing market risks, with localized underwriting.
Key Features
- Construction project coverage
- General property risks
- Developing market specialist underwriting
Target Users: African enterprises, infrastructure developers, multinationals operating in Africa
Distribution: Regional brokers, direct to insurers
Casualty Insurance
A suite of liability and specialty casualty products for African businesses and organizations.
Key Features
- Cyber insurance (launched December 2025)
- Directors & Officers (D&O)
- Errors & Omissions (E&O)
- Financial Institutions coverage
- General Liability
- Medical Malpractice
Target Users: Corporates, financial institutions, healthcare providers, technology companies in Africa
Distribution: Broker network, Lloyd's market
Specialty Lines
Specialty coverage programs for energy, political, and infrastructure risks across Africa and emerging markets.
Key Features
- Energy infrastructure risks
- Political Risk and Trade Credit (USD 5B derisked since 2021)
- Political Violence and Terrorism
- Aviation and Marine
- Security Risk coverage
Target Users: Energy companies, governments, multinationals with African exposure
Distribution: Wholesale brokers, Lloyd's market
Parametric Insurance
Alternative risk solutions using parametric triggers for African agricultural and climate risks.
Key Features
- Drought protection programs (e.g., 30,000 farmers in Botswana)
- Climate-indexed parametric triggers
- Developed in partnership with NASA Harvest for modeling
Target Users: Agricultural enterprises, governments, development organizations
Distribution: Direct to clients, government programs
Treaty Reinsurance
Treaty reinsurance and captive management services for African insurance carriers.
Key Features
- Treaty reinsurance arrangements
- Captive management services
- Access to global reinsurance capacity
Target Users: African domestic insurance carriers
Distribution: Direct to cedants
At a Glance
- Founded
- 2020
- Headquarters
- London, England
- Employees
- 51-200
Category & Focus
Last updated: 2026-06-16