Maritime insurance company NorthStandard has revealed plans to expand its operations in Asia with the opening of an office in South Korea.
The Newcastle and London-based operator is preparing to open a base in the capital Seoul having launched an Asian headquarters in Singapore last spring. It will be led by claims director Shang Doe Shim, who previously worked for a Korean shipping company, and will be the firm's eighth office in the Asia Pacific region, where it has been targeting growth.
NorthStandard, which is one of the world's largest maritime insurers, says it is a significant player in the Korean market, where it offers protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance, freight, demurrage and defence (FD&D) insurance and other specialist products for owned and chartered businesses. In the region the firm has offices Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Nelon, Melbourne and Brisbane.
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NorthStandard's head of Asia-Pacific David Roberts said setting up the Seoul base would strengthen the firm's office in the region. He said: "South Korea is one of the most significant individual country markets in Asia and is NorthStandard’s largest market in the region. We aim to bring additional service value to an important customer base."
The Seoul office is intended to be base for recruitment of experts in Korea who are familiar with the country's shipping market. As well as its own business, NorthStandard has a joint venture arrangement with the Korea P&I club, established since 2016.
The firm said Korea ranks second globally in shipbuilding, after China, and is the fourth-largest ship-owning nation, after China, Greece, and Japan. Historically, the firm's Korean business has been services from the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and Singapore with support from Korean correspondent Ins-Ship Aide.
James Moran, NorthStandard’s chief operating officer for Asia Pacific, said: "This will continue, but in light of the importance of Korea to NorthStandard, we see considerable potential to provide a more localised service offering to our expanding membership, with a particular focus on claims support."
The international move is the latest for NorthStandard which was formed by the merger of The North of England Protecting and Indemnity Association Limited (North) and The Standard Club in early 2023. At the time of the two mutuals joining, bosses said it would open up opportunities in Asia and the US.
NorthStandard now boasts premium income of about £628m ($800m) and provides cover for about 365 million of gross tonnage of owned and chartered vessels. The business employs about 700 people globally including around 300 at its Newcastle Quayside offices.
