47. United Insurance Brokers

Fee and Commission income (2000): £9.4m
Pre-tax profit (2000): £2.2m

Address:
69 Mansell Street
London
E1 8AN
Tel: 020 7488 0551
Fax: 020 7480 5182
Website: uib.co.uk

History: The early origins of the company go back to 1968 when a broking operation was set up by members of the Kabban family (Jad and the late Michel Kabban with 51% share) in association with Marsh & McLennan (49%). The name of that operation was Kabban-Marsh & McLennan (Middle East) Corporation.

Despite the difficulties created by the civil war in Lebanon in 1975, the company continued to operate but was forced to set up offices in Athens to service its international clients. In 1977, building on the success of the Athens move, it set up an office in London (JGK & Co). Soon thereafter, the name of the company was changed to Marsh & McLennan Middle East and by 1978, Marsh & McLennan, New York, became the sole owner of the company.

UIB was established in January 1 1987 following a management buyout of Marsh & McLennan Middle East.

Two years after its establishment, UIB was admitted as a Lloyd's broker without going through the umbrella arrangement.

The core executives of UIB have been working together for over twenty years. This fact has ensured a continuity of service to clients. It also explains the loyalty of clients to the company despite the major transformations that have affected the insurance broking sector.

The skills acquired by working for a multi-national broker have been put to good use, enabling the company to mould an efficient organisation, flexible enough to meet the changing requirements of its clients and strong enough to withstand the current uncertainties in the market.

Chief officer: Bassem S Kabban
Biography: Bassem Kabban was born in 1955 in Dhahran and raised in Beirut. He began his insurance career in 1976 in London.

For 23 years, he has been part of the London market scene, out of which he spent 11 years with Marsh & McLennan Middle East (MMME) until January 1987, when he became a founding member of the UIB following a management buyout of MMME.

His core expertise was in marine cargo and oil movements before delving into aviation and developing a comprehensive command of aviation fuelling liability, having handled the placement of risks and negotiated settlements of claims. When he became the managing director of UIB in January 1998, he carried with him a wealth of experience on the intricacies of insurance broking, in-depth knowledge of many facets of marine and aviation business and negotiating skills accumulated over many years.

He has lectured on aspects of marine insurance, particularly on oil movements, to audiences in many countries.

He speaks Arabic and has working knowledge of Japanese.

Major shareholders: Private company - the Kabban Family
Main lines of business: Marine, energy, aviation, construction, engineering, treaty and political credit insurance

Special schemes: War cover
Number of UK branches: One
Number of employees (average for 2000): 122