Verspieren, the third biggest direct insurance broker in France, has teamed up with weather derivatives broker United-Indar to offer weather derivatives in Europe. Thierry Bizdikian, chief executive of the commercial division of Verspieren in Paris, said the insurance broker wants to expand its market reach by adding the ability to offer weather derivatives. It already has several clients, including industrial and construction concerns, which are interested in the products, he added, declining to name them.
The French broker is a founder and member of Assurex Global, a worldwide network of 120 insurance brokers that generated USD1.8 billion in insurance premiums in 2000.
United-Indar teamed up with Verspieren because the French insurance broker "is willing to sell new risk management products" and because of its extensive coverage of the French market, according to Philippe Chauvancy, director of United Weather Europe and co-chair of the Weather Risk Management Association Europe. United-Indar is itself a recently formed joint venture between Jersey City, N.J.-based United Weather and Indar Energy in Paris aimed at expanding both companies' coverage of the European weather derivatives market. Chauvancy has spent the last several months in Europe finalizing the ventures with Verspieren and Indar Energy. When he returns to Jersey City next month, Pierre Blanzaco and Harry Illouz will handle weather derivatives brokering from Paris. United-Indar will begin brokering weather products today.
