Aon and funds managed by Blackstone said on 6 November that they are launching Cortina, syndicate 1956 at Lloyd's. QBE will be the managing agent and will handle underwriting and governance. The Council of Lloyd's gave approval in principle on 16 October, and the syndicate intends to start underwriting on 1 January 2027, subject to final Lloyd's approval.
Cortina will write fixed shares of the reinsurance that Aon arranges for participating clients: 3% of eligible property catastrophe excess-of-loss treaties and 5% of all other eligible treaties. It works on a lead/follow basis, so it accepts the terms and claims decisions of the lead reinsurers. The syndicate is backed by long-term institutional capital and will pass efficiency savings to clients through a dividend based on its share of their reinsurance programmes. It will carry an A+ financial strength rating, Aon said.
The release did not say how much capital the Blackstone funds will provide or how large the client dividend will be. QBE International chief executive Jason Harris described Cortina as a new kind of model for reinsurance capacity at Lloyd's, and Lloyd's chief executive Patrick Tiernan welcomed it as innovation.
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Aon ↗Company · 6 Nov 2026
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