Bobby Swarup
Managing Director
Imara
A Volante Emerging Markets Company
“Imara” is a Swahili word that means strong, resilient and resolute and these are our core attributes. We are proud to offer Lloyd’s of London A+ rated security to our partners in high growth markets of Asia and Africa. Our objective is to bring tangible improvements and support the development of a sustainable and resilient re/insurance market.
Imara’s proposition of international security coupled with an exclusive focus on high growth markets is truly unique.
We believe our chosen market deserves exclusive focus, differentiated service, high-grade security and the peace of mind that comes with it.
At Imara, we enable marginal improvements in each and every risk we underwrite which over time will support the advancement of the re/insurance industry in our chosen markets. Therefore, we only write business where we can clearly see a value add for our partners – brokers, cedants or reinsurers – and aim to work exclusively with key strategic partners.
We are committed to being present locally in our chosen markets and are setting up regional offices (subject to regulatory approval) in:
We believe sustainable relationships are built in person and through a common understanding of the opportunities and challenges that our partners deal with every day.
The areas we are most passionate about are pricing, product development and technology. You can expect an open and timely dialogue with us, providing you with a view on pricing, suggesting alternatives on product design as well as terms and conditions.
We also understand the importance of effective claims handling and efficient claims service, and see this as a core component of our offering. An efficient and transparent claims service is at the heart of building long-term partnerships.
The Imara team has worked extensively across high growth markets, in underwriting, investing and operating Insurance businesses. We are passionate about our chosen markets and strive to achieve the best results for our selected partners.
Managing Director
Imara
Managing Director
Imara
Bobby has nearly 20 years of insurance industry experience across the London Market, Asia and Africa.
During his career, Bobby was Chief Financial Officer at a London-based investment fund which owned and operated insurance businesses in high-growth markets in Africa and Asia. Prior to this, he was a Director at EY, overseeing all aspects of providing assurance and advisory services to a client portfolio of large and listed global re/insurance groups.
Recently, as a board member of a Nigerian insurance company, he played a central role in greatly improving the firm’s performance prior to the company’s sale to Allianz.
Bobby has worked with boards and C-Suite executives of insurance businesses to set their vision and strategy, and has mentored teams to become more client-centric, improve their operations and grow profitably.
Managing Director
Imara
Managing Director
Imara
Bilal is a seasoned re/insurance professional, with experience across underwriting and pricing roles in London, Zurich and in high-growth markets.
Prior to joining Volante, Bilal was Director of Underwriting at a London-based investment fund which owned and operated insurance businesses in high-growth markets in Africa and Asia. He oversaw the successful turnaround of underwriting performance across the group.
As a board member of portfolio companies, he drove portfolio shifts towards profitability, implemented a strong governance culture and enabled a step-change in operational efficiency through the use of state-of-the-art underwriting technology.
Previously, Bilal spent several years at Swiss Re in underwriting and pricing roles, where his clients included some of the largest global insurers, advising them on reinsurance structures, solvency optimisation and risk management.
Managing Director, South East Asia & China
Imara
Managing Director, South East Asia & China
Imara
Amy joined Volante as Managing Director in August 2022.
She has over 15 years’ experience in the (re)insurance market. Her career started with Swiss Re and has taken her around the world to Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London and Singapore. Amongst one of the first employees at Pioneer Underwriting, she built an international Marine portfolio of Treaty, Fac and Direct business, and was part of the team instrumental to its transition from an MGA to a Lloyd’s syndicate.
Amy moved to Singapore in 2017 to lead the distribution strategy and stakeholder engagement for Lloyd’s Asia.
Most recently she was a company director and board member of BMS Singapore.
Amy is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute and holds an MBA from Imperial College London and is fluent in English and Mandarin.
Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent
Imara
Managing Director, Indian Subcontinent
Imara
Laxmeekant is an accomplished professional with over 16 years of re/insurance experience in India and the Global re/insurance industry. He started his career with Swiss Re, India after completing his MBA and worked for 10+ years in the Middle East. He was most recently Chief Underwriting Officer of AXA, XL India building and managing a profitable reinsurance portfolio.
Laxmeekant has diversified re/insurance experience and in-depth understanding of Indian and Global re/insurance markets. He holds various professional qualifications including Fellowship from the Chartered Insurance Institute of UK, the Insurance Institute of India and ANZIIF Institute Australia. He also holds a certificate from Harvard Business School on Sustainable Business Strategy and diploma in ILS- Insurance Linked Securities.
Portfolio Director
Imara
Portfolio Director
Imara
Sofiane joined Imara as Portfolio Director in July 2022, to develop the Treaty and Facultative portfolio in North & West Africa.
He has over 12 years’ experience in the reinsurance industry. Prior to joining Imara, Sofiane was Head of International Inwards Reinsurance as Director at CCR Algeria, serving as member of its Underwriting Committee, Risk Management Committee, among others. During his time at CCR, Sofiane successfully developed a profitable book of Treaty and Facultative business emanating from Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Sofiane has an Engineering degree from the Institute of Planning and Statistics, Algeria, with specialisation in Finance and Actuarial Science. He also holds a Postgraduate degree from the Arab Maghreb Development Finance Institute. He is fluent in Arabic, French and English.
Senior Underwriter, Liability
Imara
Senior Underwriter, Liability
Imara
Kamlesh started his career as a property underwriter for 3 years, before moving to liability underwriting. Prior to joining Volante, he served as the Deputy Vice President for the Financial Lines at Tata AIG. He has also worked at Bajaj Allianz, Raheja QBE, and Reliance General Insurance in India.
With over 17 years of experience, he has extensive knowledge of underwriting a variety of product lines in the liability space, ranging from Management Liability (D&O, POSI), Cyber Insurance, Professional Liability (Tech PI / E&O, Construction Project PI), Kidnap and Ransom, Financial Institution (PE/VC, MFAP), and Casualty Lines (CGL, Product liability with Recall, Clinical trial).
Among his professional credentials are a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of UK, a Fellowship from the Insurance Institute of India and Master of Business Administration (MBA) from National Insurance Academy, Pune with specialisation in General Insurance and Marketing.
Underwriting Assistant
Imara
Underwriting Assistant
Imara
Rakhi started her career with Genpact India in 2013. She has over 10 years of insurance experience in North America as well as Asia Market. Prior to joining Volante, she worked with AXA XL in underwriting assistance, credit control, cash application and invoicing.
Underwriting Assistant
Imara
Underwriting Assistant
Imara
Santosh has 13 years of experience in Operation, End-to-End Knowledge, and expertise in P&C Insurance Underwriting across multiple geographies. He also has experience in Transitions and Quality Improvement with an objective to lead and achieve organisational and individual goals by implementation of quality principles. As well as providing UW Expertise such as policy administration support for all pre and post bind activities like NB & RB Submission, Quote preparation, Policy Issuance and maintenance for Property and Casualty lines of business of insurance. Prior to Volante, Santosh started his career with Genpact in 2011, in multiple processes Like Optum, Swiss RE, AON Affinity, Ryan Specialty.