FM Global has opened a new London Market operation specialising in writing cargo business.
FM Global senior cargo production underwriter Nick Holding, who is heading up the unit, said: "It will be purely term cargo business and not hull. Our doors are open. Effectively, we will offer cargo as a complementary product to our property placement which underpins the bulk of our business.
"We expect to offer a range of products but they will be specifically tailored to our insureds needs."
The London operation is an expansion of FM Global's existing cargo business based in New York and San Diego.
"We want to raise the profile, internally and externally, of FM Global's cargo business in the UK. It is too early to say what premium income we will achieve in the first year, but we hope to expand the operation further into Europe."
Scandinavia is a key target for the group, in particular Sweden, and the cargo business could be extended to this market, said the company.
Holding said FM Global's sister operation Affiliated FM, which opened its Manchester office last week, would work closely with the operation using its broker partnerships to feed the business.
Holding said the problems in the hull market were not affecting cargo. "We are seeing the market going over the hill and we are in an environment of decreasing rates. But what we want to do is grow the business through existing client base.
"Though we are based in Leadenhall Street, we see the composite market as more our competitors than Lloyd's."
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