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BPL Global has been appointed as insurance broker for the Green Guarantee Company to provide risk transfer solutions for green financing innovation in emerging markets

BPL Global, in partnership with the Development Guarantee Group, is pleased to announce its support of the Green Guarantee Company (GGC), the very-first specialist guarantor backing climate bonds issued in developed markets by issuers from the developing world.

The GGC will give emerging market debt issuers access to new investor pools by increasing the creditworthiness of an issuance by its guarantee; thereby improving capital flows between developed and developing markets in support of climate objectives. It was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) on November 2nd 2021 and becomes operational in 2022.

Mobilising private sector support for the venture is critical to the GGC’s success. As such, BPL Global has been driving interest among the private insurance market to provide capacity for relevant political risks linked to the GGC’s guarantees.

Together with Sovereign Risk Insurance and Liberty Specialty Markets as lead insurance partners, and with support from the Ascot Group as insurance partner, BPL Global developed a Political Risk Insurance Framework for the initiative which will provide a basis upon which insurers can support the GGC.

The partnership represents an important step in the development of new risk transfer solutions to provide critical support for green investments in the emerging markets.

Gregory King-Underwood, Director, Global Portfolio Solutions and Reinsurance at BPL Global comments: “We’re proud to be part of this initiative with the Green Guarantee Company to enable sustainable projects from emerging markets to access a much wider pool of investors. To date, BPL Global has been engaging with the credit and political risk insurance market to support this exciting new development. Moving forward, we will be working alongside the Green Guarantee Company to navigate and overcome the complex insurance challenges of the partner projects. As the leading specialist broker in credit and political risk insurance, we hope our collaboration with the Green Guarantee Company will demonstrate how insurance can provide long-term, tailored support to the financing of sustainable projects, where such coverage is seamlessly matched to the projects’ underlying risk profiles.”

Boo Hock Khoo, Co-Founder at The Development Guarantee Group adds: “The ambition of the Green Guarantee Company is to become a champion for mobilising and crowding-in global capital market investors into providing the climate finance urgently needed to help developing countries address the climate change challenge. The insurance industry represents a global capital pool of more than USD 30 trillion and therefore will be a key strategic partner to the Green Guarantee Company, both as an investor in the climate bonds that it will guarantee and as a risk-sharing partner through the private credit insurance (CPRI) market. We are grateful for the support of BPL Global in helping the Green Guarantee Company to establish a relationship with the CPRI market at such an early stage of its development.”

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Bedford and District Cerebral Palsy Society (BDCPS) has been chosen by BPL Global to be its Charity of the Year for 2021/22, following a popular staff vote.

BPL Global has also pledged to support the Bedfordshire-based charity for the next three years.

BDCPS provides essential support for children and young people with disabilities, as well as for their families. While the charity specialises in services tailored for young people with Cerebral Palsy, it caters to a wide variety of physical disabilities and complex health needs.

Cerebral Palsy is the name for a group of conditions that impacts mobility and co-ordination. It is the most common form of motor disability in childhood, with an estimated 150 children diagnosed in the UK each month.

BDCPS holds school holiday playschemes, monthly social clubs and adventure trips, designed to give children and young people with life limiting conditions fulfilling and enjoyable experiences. Activities have included sailing, rock climbing, skiing, canal boat trips and theatre productions. The charity also holds special sibling days and provides wellbeing support for parents and carers. Its work continued throughout the pandemic, with a rich programme of virtual and online activities.

“We are absolutely delighted that BPL Global’s employees have chosen BDCPS to be its Charity of the Year,” comments Rose McHugh, Child Services Manager at BDCPS. “We are a small team making a real difference to very vulnerable families within our community. The level of support from BPL Global and its staff is fantastic and will definitely enhance our ability to do this, especially in these uncertain times.”

BDCPS was shortlisted by BPL Global’s staff-led Charity Committee which oversees and channels the company’s corporate charitable donations. Employee engagement is central to BPL Global’s corporate social responsibility efforts and the selection process for its Charity of the Year 2021/2022 involved a call for nominations and a staff-wide vote.

“By getting our colleagues involved in the selection process, it means we can reach the communities and causes that matter the most to our people,” explains Matthew Graham, Compliance Director and Chair of BPL Global’s Charity Committee. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to get behind BDCPS and support the fantastic work they do to give young people with disabilities and their families meaningful opportunities and experiences.”

The Charity Committee aims to support small and medium-sized organisations that are focused on promoting human welfare where BPL Global’s donations can make the most impact. Further information on the organisations BPL Global has supported can be found here.

For the first time this year, employees were asked to vote for BPL Global’s main charity partner, with a commitment to continue supporting the winning charity over a three year period. Alongside the Charity of the Year initiative, BPL Global’s Charity Committee will continue to support causes that are personally important to its employees through the matching of donations and staff fundraising efforts, as well as donations to other long-standing partners and specific international humanitarian appeals.

Find out more about the Bedford and District Cerebral Palsy Society here.

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BPL Global has partnered with trade credit underwriter Euler Hermes to develop the first ever API-based digital broker-underwriter integration in Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) – a ground-breaking development for the market.

The move facilitates the digital transfer of enquiry level data between BPL Global’s internal broking system and Euler Hermes’ underwriting system using an API (application programming interface) supplied by digital insurance platform Whitespace.

This collaborative, interoperable approach simplifies the process for brokers placing requests for cover and enables the underwriter to receive such data directly into their own systems, thereby removing the need for a third-party application.

The BPL Global and Euler Hermes integration builds upon other recent CPRI market digitisation initiatives across electronic placement platforms, which do not currently allow for seamless systems-based digital integration between brokers and insurers.

Sian Aspinall, Managing Director at BPL Global, said it was an “important milestone” for CPRI market-wide digital efficiency, adding: “Crucially, it will enhance data accuracy, operational efficiency and client service.”

“It is exciting to share a vision with BPL, to decide to make together a pioneering move in the CPRI market and to see this joint vision become a reality,” commented Thomas Laporte-Many, Head of Development & Innovation for Euler Hermes Transactional Cover.

“The idea that market firms could build their own proprietary systems and trade through Whitespace was always a key part of our strategy,” added Jonathan Clarke, founder and Chief Software Developer, Whitespace.

Looking ahead, this exciting development serves to illustrate the potential for greater collaboration, system integration and interoperability between insurers and brokers, and the benefits of API-based integration. These include enhanced data accuracy, reliability and analytics, faster response times and simplification – all of which are ultimately beneficial for clients.

The full news release can be read here.

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BPL Global, specialist Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) broker, has continued in promoting innovation by helping Andritz – international industrial group – access Euler Hermes’ Green2Green Single Risk solution to create a virtuous green cycle.

As an international industrial group that manages natural resources, environmental protection is a central business priority of Andritz. Operating across more than 280 locations in over 40 countries, the firm strives to be a leader in sustainability and in responsible corporate governance.

In recognition of this, in November 2020, BPL Global introduced Andritz to Euler Hermes’ Green2Green Single Risk solution – an innovative solution that helps tackle climate change by insuring green transactions and investing the premium into certified green bonds, creating a ‘virtuous green cycle’. The solution also rewards companies for their ESG-related activities.

Torsten Boeck, Deputy Head Order and Project Financing at Andritz commented: “Sustained environmental protection and conservation of natural resources are two leading principles that guide Andritz’s activities on a daily basis. As our group is also involved in projects contributing to the ecological transition, with all plants and systems delivered to customers around the world complying with the highest environmental standard, it made sense for Andritz to bind one of the first Green2Green policies with Euler Hermes.”

Since binding under the trade credit insurance solution, Andritz has already had one policy certified green for a waste-to-energy plant project.

Oliver Wright, Director at BPL Global said “BPL Global is delighted to have intermediated this milestone placement for our client. We have an excellent partnership with Euler Hermes and consider the Green2Green Single Risk credit insurance initiative a leading offering in the growing ESG space. It certainly fits into our work as an innovative credit and political risk insurance broker.”

Andritz is the second client to utilize the pioneering solution, and BPL Global looks forward to helping other clients achieve their sustainability objectives via Green2Green, with a view to driving the transition towards a more sustainable future.

BPL Global’s drive to innovate goes beyond this green solution, too. More recently, the firm launched its pioneering new portfolio management tool, BPL Sphere, an innovative platform designed to give clients full and immediate visibility to their CPRI portfolios and exposures across their global operations. BPL Global continues to deploy solutions across its business and client base, and use its leading market position to help propel digitalisation and innovation forward within the industry.

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BPL Global, specialist Credit and Political Risk Insurance (CPRI) broker, has further consolidated its position as the resident expert in the CPRI market with the release of its latest innovation, BPL Sphere – a new platform designed to give clients full and immediate visibility to their CPRI portfolio and exposures across their global operations.

The platform, which BPL Global has developed and refined over the last twelve months, is believed to be the most sophisticated of its kind in the market, and comes in response to the growing demand among clients for sleeker, more holistic tools with which to analyse and utilise their insurance data.

The multi-faceted platform gives clients access to all their CPRI data through a single, user-friendly portal. Dashboards track and display all aspects of a client’s activities, ranging from non-binding quotations, through to bound policies, invoicing and claims, and their portfolio view can be filtered according to requirement – for instance, by country, obligor, cover type, policy status, currency or insurer security. The tool is designed to give complete oversight for risk management purposes, as well as allowing for in-depth analysis of premium spend, insurer relationships and exposures, to streamline internal reporting.

James Esdaile, Managing Director at BPL Global commented, “We are delighted to bring BPL Sphere to the market as the new cutting-edge of client servicing capabilities. From transactional flow to counterparty risk management, this tool provides real-time data that has a myriad of uses throughout our clients’ organisations.”

Indeed, through the platform, clients are able to “slice and dice” their data according to their individual needs, as well as extract it to use elsewhere within their management, systems, and operations. BPL Sphere permits unparalleled visibility across clients’ country and counterparty exposures, active policies and corresponding endorsements, invoices payments and claims. Statistical data, together with copies of bound policies and endorsements, can be exported from the platform for clients’ own internal needs, whether that be for their front, middle or back office functions.

“Our view has always been that we are custodians of our clients’ data – the data belongs to them and we are there to support them in managing their exposures”, added Sian Aspinall, Managing Director at BPL Global. “Through BPL Sphere, we are now able to empower our clients by furnishing them with their own data, at new levels of usability. They can leverage this both internally, but also with insurer markets, as a means of getting the most out of their insurance programmes.”

Several clients are already enjoying the benefits of BPL Sphere, and BPL Global continues to roll-out the platform across its client base, with its expert team of brokers on-hand to support new users navigate the tool.

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BPL Global has been named a “Leader in Trade for Resilience” at Global Trade Review’s (GTR) 2021 Awards in the Insurance category.

While the full direct impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) market remains to be seen, for the private insurance market overall, industry losses are forecast to exceed US$100bn – surpassing even those that arose from the 9/11 attacks. The pandemic, however, was not the only challenge for the CPRI industry in 2020 – the continuing hardening of the market accelerated by the pandemic, alongside low commodity prices in early 2020, worked to further impact CPRI demand and supply.

While the year undoubtedly took its toll, GTR’s judging panel highlighted how BPL Global had “shown strength in current operations” while “finding ways to grow and innovate to the benefit of clients” in 2020.

Sian Aspinall, Managing Director, BPL Global said: “We are honoured to have been recognised by GTR for our efforts to ensure resilience for our business and our clients over the past year. Driven by this commitment, we were able to successfully adapt to the changing headwinds of 2020, while providing close guidance for our clients through regular, detailed update papers to help them use CPRI to navigate the uncertainty and pinpoint new avenues of growth.”

She continued: “We were also able to grow our global footprint through strategic partnerships with leading specialist brokers in Israel and Canada, as well as responding to client demand for coverage in new areas– notably in the renewables space – which we hope to continue in 2021 and beyond.”

A full writeup of GTR’s Leader in Trade awards can be found here.

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Leading specialist CPRI broker BPL Global has today published its annual Market Insight report revealing a snapshot of claims, emerging areas of demand and appetite and how the industry has fared over the past twelve months.

Given its 20% share of the brokered market, BPL Global delves into its own portfolio statistics in the report to evidence trends in the wider CPRI industry. This year’s report focuses in particular on the Project Finance (PF) and Infrastructure space, where enquiry levels have remained stable and comparable to 2019, reflecting the long-term nature of PF business.

The power sector represented the largest proportion (at a third) of all PF enquiries that BPL Global received in 2020, up from 28% in the previous year. Of these enquiries, two-thirds related to renewable energy deals, with particularly noteworthy demand for coverage for onshore and offshore wind farm projects in Vietnam and Taiwan. In the OECD, the CPRI market has seen strong PF demand for onshore and offshore wind in northern and western Europe, and for solar projects in Australia, the US, Chile and parts of southern Europe.

This year’s report also analyses CPRI demand trends in Africa, which continues to attract interest from clients and insurers alike, and represents BPL Global’s largest regional exposure. In addition, it highlights an increased number of enquiries for lenders’ Political Risk Insurance (PRI) from European investment funds and Independent Power Producers for African solar projects, which have attracted strong interest from CPRI underwriters.

Commenting on the findings, James Esdaile, Managing Director, BPL Global, said: “New patterns of demand have developed in recent years in the project finance arena, particularly for renewable energy projects for which we have witnessed increased interest, as reflected in this year’s report. We attribute this to banks allocating more liquidity to renewables projects, and we expect this trend to continue.”

He added: “Though there have been, of course, winners and losers in our market from the COVID-19 pandemic, and while we still await the full claims impact, we can report relative stability overall. Indeed, across an insurance industry already hardening pre-COVID, the pandemic has merely accelerated that market trend.”

“And as a result of this and rising geopolitical instability, we are also registering growing interest in political violence insurance (PV), which looks to plug exclusions in general property insurance policies and cover politically-instigated property damage and consequent business interruption for corporates.”

The report also updates on the current claims landscape, and includes the very latest market-wide CPRI claims statistics for banks and financial institutions which were published this week. In the period between 2007 and 2020, the CPRI market as a whole settled US$3.7 billion of claims to banks and financial institutions, with BPL Global handling a quarter of these claims. 100% of claims made by such entities in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were paid in full, and across the whole period only 3% were compromised claims.

Finally, the report unveils the results of the broker’s annual market-wide capacity survey. The headline figures reveal resilience in the market in 2020, with the aggregate capacity of the CPRI insurers remaining stable compared to the previous two years. Maximum capacity for some lines has, in fact, marginally increased, such as political risk insurance (PRI) and non-payment private obligor risk (CR), with similar levels of capacity for the latter still available for tenors of seven and 10 years as per last year’s survey.

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The current CEO of BPL Singapore, Harry McIndoe, is set to return to London to take on a new management role within the BPL Global Group following nine years in Asia, with Hayley Ek assuming responsibility over the coming months.

McIndoe helped establish BPL’s Singapore office in 2012 and has been instrumental in both growing the client base and building one of the largest specialist teams in the region. McIndoe will remain a Board Member of BPL Singapore and continue to be involved with the firm’s strategy in the region while supporting Ek in her new role alongside BPL Global’s Head of Asia Pacific, Peter Gilbert, who remains in Singapore.

Ek has been with the firm for eight years. She will report directly to BPL Global’s Managing Directors, James Esdaile and Sian Aspinall, who are based in the broker’s headquarters in London.

James Esdaile said: “We are very grateful for Harry’s service in Singapore over the past nine years which has helped us establish a leading credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) broker platform in Asia. Moreover, we are delighted to give Hayley the opportunity to take on the role of CEO of BPL Singapore. Hayley has long been a key member of the Singapore office and is more than ready to take on this new challenge.”

McIndoe said: “I am hugely proud of what we have achieved as a team in Singapore over the past nine years and I am very excited to pass on the reins to Hayley. She is well known in the CPRI market for her expertise and client-centric approach, and will do a fantastic job of both running the team and achieving our strategic goals. We have come a long way since our inception in 2012, with the BPL Global brand now firmly established with many of the region’s leading banks and corporates. I have every confidence that Hayley will help steer the business to new heights as we approach our second decade in the region.”

Ek said: “I am humbled by this opportunity to lead the BPL Singapore team and am grateful for the faith that BPL Global has shown in me. In addition to assuming my new responsibilities, I will remain closely involved in servicing my existing portfolio of loyal clients and helping to grow their use of the CPRI market. I am very excited about the role and look forward to contributing to the Singapore team’s continued success.”

In tandem with these developments, BPL Singapore has also made a new hire who will be joining the team in early May.

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With BPL New York LLC now established as one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, BPL Global – the leading CPRI broker – is delighted to announce the appointment of Gabe Mansky and Andrea Friedman. Mansky and Friedman, who both join BPL New York from Arthur J. Gallagher, will be primarily focused on Israeli-based corporations and banks, as well as their US affiliates.

A well-known CPRI broker in both the US and Israeli markets, Mansky held the position of Executive Vice President at Gallagher for 12 years. He previously spent 11 years at Acordia/Wells Fargo Insurance and began his career in CPRI with Credit International Associates, now Aon Trade Credit.

Friedman was a member of Mansky’s team for two and a half years at Wells Fargo and at Gallagher for the past 12 years, where she served as a Client Relationship Manager. She will continue to work as a Client Relationship Manager within Mansky’s team at BPL Global.

BPL Global has also announced the signing of a partnership with TCS – Trade Credit Solutions. TCS, the first and leading brokerage firm exclusively focusing on Israeli trade credit and political risks, was founded in 2010 by Muki Sharir. The TCS team has gained the reputation as the premier CPRI broker in Israel, providing tailored solutions to its clients – banks and financial institutions, leading global corporates and multinationals with subsidiaries around the globe, as well as public and private corporates, exporters, and domestic market players.

James Esdaile, Managing Director, BPL Global, said: “We’re excited to add such experienced talent to the BPL Global team in New York and equally pleased to enter into a partnership with TCS, which will allow us to support and develop its well-established franchise in Israel.”

Mansky said: “Joining BPL Global, continuing the partnership with TCS, and focusing on
the Israeli marketplace culminates in a winning combination. BPL Global’s position as the world’s leading CPRI broker, the reputation of TCS as the premier CPRI broker in Israel, and Israel’s exporting economy all make this so. That said, we will not forgo any non-Israeli opportunity.”

Muki Sharir, Founder, TCS said: “We are delighted to partner with BPL Global, a specialist CPRI broker which shares our commitment to providing the industry’s highest level of product expertise and client service. The partnership will allow us to further strengthen our capabilities and lead the Israeli CPRI brokerage industry.”

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BPL Global and EQUA Specialty Risk Partners Corporation (EQUA) have today announced that they have signed a partnership agreement, effective immediately. Based in Canada, EQUA is a risk management and insurance brokerage firm offering customized solutions for specialty lines and will bolster specialist credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) broker BPL Global’s worldwide reach and largest broking team in the market.

The exclusive partnership will ensure both an enhanced presence in North America and a seamless service for the brokers’ clients operating in and out of Canada. Under the agreement, the brokers will coordinate to access regional markets, provide expertise on policy wordings in line with Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) guidelines, and offer capital relief solutions for banking and large corporate clients across the region.

Evan Freely, Director and Head of the Americas, BPL Global, said: “We are delighted to have joined forces with EQUA to service the increasing demand for CPRI in Canada, particularly within growing areas such as renewable energy. As highly respected experts in our market who are similarly committed to their independence, EQUA were the obvious partner for us to take this ambition forward and strengthen our foothold in North America.”

Dave Richards, CEO and Founder, EQUA, said: “We are honoured to partner with BPL Global, an industry leader whose expertise enhances the Canadian CPRI landscape. This strategic development is a testament to our shared specialty broker culture and commitment to aligning with the very best global talent to support our clients’ needs.”

The move is the latest in BPL Global’s expansion into the North American region, following the opening of its New York office in April 2019.

About EQUA

EQUA Specialty Risk Partners Corporation (EQUA) is a specialty risk insurance brokerage with highly customized solutions, a client-first approach, and a bold company culture. Founded in January of 2020 by industry veterans with deep-rooted networks and a drive to offer insurance and risks solutions in a new way, EQUA has quickly grown to become a team of more than thirty employees with offices in Toronto, Calgary, and Regina. Learn more at equaspecialty.com.