Santam has appointed Hemant Gulati (pictured) to lead its new India-based reinsurance operation at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City), as the insurer expands its footprint across the global specialty and reinsurance markets.
Gulati has been appointed country head and, subject to regulatory approval, principal officer of Santam’s India-based operation at GIFT City.
The licence for the operation was granted by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and other Indian authorities in January this year. In a media statement released in early February, Santam said the office would be managed by a locally sourced team of insurance professionals tasked with maintaining the group’s governance and risk management standards. The insurer said the move made it the first BRICS-based insurance company to establish a presence in GIFT City.
Gulati joins Santam from UNISON Insurance Broking Services, where he served as senior executive vice-president and business head: reinsurance at GIFT City. He has close to 20 years’ experience across insurance and global reinsurance markets, including claims, risk engineering, underwriting advisory, and corporate client servicing.
In his new role, Gulati will lead Santam’s GIFT City operations, focusing on expanding its specialty insurance and reinsurance platform, strengthening global partnerships, and driving long-term growth.
Gareth Beaver, the chief executive of Santam Specialist Solutions, described Gulati as an experienced insurance professional with a strong understanding of Indian and international markets.
“He has led facultative and treaty operations, built reinsurance capacity arrangements, and expanded business relationships across more than 30 countries – demonstrating a strong track record of building and scaling international reinsurance platforms,” Beaver said.
India expansion linked to broader reinsurance strategy
The GIFT City operation forms part of Santam’s broader international reinsurance expansion strategy. The office allows the group to build on an Indian market presence that stretches back more than a decade while broadening its international treaty and facultative reinsurance footprint.
GIFT City has emerged as a regional hub for insurers and reinsurers as India pushes to attract foreign investment into its financial sector through a more favourable regulatory framework. Santam will operate the licence as an International Insurance Office under the IFSCA framework.
Santam Re will provide underwriting capacity across property, engineering, marine, and liability lines, while Santam Specialist Solutions will contribute facultative reinsurance capabilities for complex and niche risks.
Kush Padia, the chief financial officer of Santam Re, said the licence would strengthen the group’s reinsurance positioning in India and internationally.
“Operating as a category two order of preference IIO reinsurer brings new reinsurance programmes into view, strengthening our position in the market. Another benefit of this licence is that it demonstrates Santam’s continued investment into India, a market we’ve been serving with reliable capacity for over 10 years. Cedents view this favourably when evaluating their panels,” he said.
The GIFT City is well connected to local and international markets.
Padia said Santam intends to leverage its position to grow its book both within India and beyond.
In the meantime, Santam’s existing exposure to India through its effective 14% economic shareholding in Shriram General Insurance continued to perform strongly in 2025. According to the group’s integrated report for 2025, Santam’s share of SGI’s gross written premium increased by 27%, while net insurance results rose by 28%, supported by underwriting growth and favourable claims experience.
Lloyd’s syndicate central to diversification drive
The granting of the GIFT City licence closely followed final approval for Santam to operate a syndicate at Lloyd’s.
Santam Syndicate 1918 received final approval from Lloyd’s in December 2025 and began underwriting business from 1 January this year. The syndicate forms part of Santam’s FutureFit 2030 strategy to expand international earnings and diversify the group’s risk base.
Santam said access to the Lloyd’s market provides licences in more than 200 territories globally and positions the group within an internationally recognised insurance marketplace. The syndicate number references Santam’s founding year.
The syndicate is underwriting US property business and providing follow-line capacity in specialty classes, including marine, energy, cyber, financial lines, and professional indemnity.
The integrated report stated that Santam Syndicate 1918 had already concluded $40 million in consortia and facility lines, although the operation is expected to contribute an operational loss of about R300m during 2026 as the platform scales.
Santam nevertheless expects the syndicate to become earnings accretive from its second year and contribute to the group’s goal of increasing international business to more than 30% of GWP by 2030, up from 19% in 2025.
The group said the syndicate is expected to deliver hard-currency earnings, strengthen specialist underwriting capability, and improve capital resilience over time.
Governance of the syndicate will operate under Lloyd’s oversight, together with Asta Managing Agency Limited, which has been appointed as managing agent. Santam said the structure would ensure compliance, risk management, and reporting standards align with Lloyd’s and Santam requirements.
Avatar acquisition adds technology capability
Alongside its Lloyd’s and India expansion, Santam is investing in underwriting technology through its acquisition of a majority stake in UK-based Avatar Holdings.
Santam acquired a 51% stake in Avatar during July 2025 for £3m as part of its broader strategy to invest in underwriting managers. Avatar has developed a technology platform designed to underwrite and price mid-sized corporate risks more efficiently than traditional insurance models.
Santam said the US mid-sized corporate market presents a significant opportunity for Avatar because of its underwriting and pricing capabilities. Although the group does not initially intend deploying underwriting capacity directly to Avatar, the platform could become a future source of business for Santam Syndicate 1918.
