Markel International has appointed Deepika Mathur to lead its entry into the Indian market.

Capacity will be provided by Markel's Lloyd’s Syndicate 3000 and written through the Lloyd’s India platform, based in Mumbai.

The business is subject to approval from Lloyd's and the regulatory authorities in India.

Mathur joins Markel India with around 20 years’ experience in the Indian insurance industry. She was most recently executive vice president at HDFC Ergo, the Indian/German joint venture general insurance company, where she was responsible for casualty and financial lines business.

During her time as HDFC Ergo, Mathur also helped to launch a number of specialty insurance products and led the carrier’s entry into the trade credit market.

Earlier positions included four years as head of financial products for Marsh in India.

Markel India will initially focus on providing treaty and facultative reinsurance to local Indian insurers across several commercial classes, including casualty, financial lines, contingency, event, personal accident, trade credit, and marine and energy.

Commenting on the announcement, Markel International president William Stovin said that Markel had been interested in the Indian market for some time but the carrier has been waiting to find the right person to head up the business.

“Deepika is exactly the sort of person we were looking for. She combines a high level of technical ability with proven management and active business development experience,” said Stovin.

“With a 20 year career in the market, in both underwriting and broking, she has a very strong network of local contacts, which will be valuable in supporting the growth of our business. Markel gets into new markets by hiring exceptional local talent and Deepika is just such a hire,” he added.

Markel follows in the footsteps of MS Amlin, which became the first syndicate to join the Lloyd’s India branch and begin underwriting on the platform in April.