Belgian insurer Vanbreda Risk & Benefits has taken full control of marine insurance broker Proteus Risk Solutions.
It will merge the marine teams of the two companies into a new operation called Vanbreda Marine.
The company took the decision to take control of Proteus just before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
That was around two years after Antwerp-based Vanbreda acquired a minority stake in Proteus.
"Vanbreda Marine has the strongest marine team in Belgium and has the potential to expand into a leading player in Northwest Europe," the company said.
Management team
The merged entity will be headed by veteran marine insurance broker and former Proteus chief executive Dirk Olyslager.
Olyslager will oversee a merged team of 33 marine insurance specialists working from Vanbreda's head offices in Antwerp.
The enlarged team will comprise ten brokers and twenty claims handlers and service providers.
Olyslager has enjoyed a career spanning more than 30 years working with leading Belgian shipowners including the Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB)/Exmar group.
He will manage the merged operation with the help of risk management specialists Wim Lanclus and Yvan Moerenhout.
Complimentary
Proteus was formed in 2016 as part of a management buy-out of Junge Antwerp. At that time, management acquired 60% of the Antwerp-based marine insurer.
In June 2018, they sold a minority stake coupled with the prospect that Vanbreda would increase that to a majority shareholding by 2020.
The broking activities of Proteus' operation are expected to complement the marine operations of Vanbreda.
Vanbreda is a largely Benelux-oriented insurer and has a staff of more than 600 people.
Its marine business has mainly been related to cargo insurance, while Proteus focused on a book of hull and liabilities.
