About us
Cobalt Underwriting – Providing ethical protection since 2012
We are a focus for the distribution of Shariah compliant insurance worldwide, enabling capacity providers to gain access to a trillion-dollar industry
Cobalt Underwriting is the world’s first Shariah compliant insurance underwriting agency. Cobalt Underwriting provides specialist Shariah compliant products and services to support the commercial activities of the global Islamic finance industry, and acts as a single focus for London in the distribution of Shariah compliant insurance business around the world.
Cobalt’s mission is to help London become a global centre for the provision of insurance and reinsurance capacity that satisfies the principles of Shariah.
Cobalt Underwriting itself is incorporated and founded upon the ethics and principles of Shariah. These principles include the need for transparency, certainty and fairness in any transaction or business dealing. Cobalt Underwriting has adopted a unique insurance facility, which is authentic and certified as Shariah compliant.
Cobalt Underwriting enables Islamic financial institutions and corporations to access Shariah compliant insurance products backed by capacity from the world’s insurance market. It is based within the City of London amongst the world’s leading insurance brands, including Lloyd’s of London and is supported by capacity from several of the globe’s leading insurance carriers providing protection for commercial risks.
With the increase of Islamic assets, Shariah compliant Investments funds and Shariah compliant financing, amongst others, there has been an increase in demand for Shariah compliant risk management solutions. In addition, the Shariah Scholars, investors, Islamic finance practitioners and Muslim clients have become increasingly frustrated having to resort to the principle of necessity (“dharura”) and purchase non-Shariah compliant protection due to the lack of insurance products that comply with the principles of Shariah. With Cobalt able to access capacity from across the London Market, they are now in a strong position to identify reliable, practical and financially viable solutions to meet the growing demand and satisfy global clients.
Cobalt Underwriting provides solutions for large commercial and corporate risks, and will initially look to provide Shariah-compliant insurance and reinsurance in the following areas:
- Commercial property
- Political Violence, sabotage and Terrorism
The Cobalt Group was started in 2012, backed by Capita, a FTSE100 company, and the Bank of London and the Middle East (BLME) and is formed of two operations:
- Cobalt Underwriting – a specialist commercial underwriting agency based in the London Market
- Cobalt Advisory – providing Shariah audit, training and certification
- Cobalt Insurance Holdings is the umbrella company for both above companies
Our capacity is provided by a number of established insurers, all with an S&P rating of at least A or above.
Company Directors
Max Taylor
Chairman of Cobalt Insurance Holdings Limited
Max began his career with Willis Faber and Dumas in 1970, and has more than 40 years of industry experience covering both broking and underwriting organisations. He is a previous Chairman of Lloyd’s of London and Deputy Chairman of Aon Corporation’s UK operations and Chairman of BIBA (British Insurance Brokers Association). Apart from Cobalt Insurance Holdings Chairman, he is also Chairman of Islamic Insurance Association of London.
John Williams
Director of Cobalt Insurance Holdings Limited & Cobalt Underwriting Services Limited
Mr. Williams has over thirty years of worldwide insurance and reinsurance industry experience. Mr. Williams co-founded Trebuchet Group Holdings Limited (formerly Armour Group Holdings and Brevan Howard P&C Partners Limited), in 2007 and is the President. He was co-founder and President of Castlewood Limited, a leading provider of run-off products for the insurance industry which he started in 1993.Mr. Williams started his insurance career in the London market before moving to Bermuda in 1981 and served as a the Underwriter and chief operating officer of one of Bermuda’s largest independent reinsurers Mr. Williams currently serves on the Insurance Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Finance and previously served as the Chairman of the Bermuda Independent Underwriters Association and was a member of the Insurance Admissions Committee which is appointed by the Bermuda Minister of Finance.
Anne Plumb
Director of Cobalt Underwriting Services Limited
Anne has had a 30 year career in the insurance/reinsurance market, holding a variety of senior positions in the Company and Lloyd’s Markets in London and overseas.
Eleven years of her career was at Swiss Re as a regional property manager in Asia Pacific, establishing and running significant and profitable books of business and managing teams across different countries. Upon returning to the UK, she became Managing Director of Swiss Re Energy Team in London, underwriting in a lead capacity and dealing with senior management of the world’s major oil and gas producers.
After 11 years, Anne moved into the Lloyd’s Market and worked as a lead underwriter and team leader at several Lloyd’s Syndicates, underwriting International and US property business (Open Market and Delegated authority).
At Cobalt, Anne runs the MGA on a day-to-day basis. The MGA offers ‘A’ rated insurance capacity for Shariah compliant products.
Anne holds a Masters in Management and an undergraduate degree in European languages and Politics.
Shariah Supervisory Board
Cobalt’s Sharia Supervisory Board is chaired by one of the world’s leading Sharia Scholars Sheikh Nizam Yaquby who works with an experienced management team to ensure the products offered meet Islamic regulations.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby
Chairman of the Shariah Supervisory Board
Mufti Muhmmad Nurullah Shikder
Member of the Shariah Supervisory Board
Sheikh Zubair Miah
Secretary to the Shariah Supervisory Board & Internal Shariah Advisor & Compliance
Mufti Muhmmad Nurullah Shikder
Member of the Shariah Supervisory Board
Mufti Muhammad is currently the Managing Director of Al Huda Shariah Advisory Services Ltd.
Mufti Muhammad spent over a decade in his capacity as Executive Vice President and Head of Shariah at Gatehouse Bank and was the former Chairman of the Shariah Supervisory Board of the bank.
Prior to joining Gatehouse Bank, he spent a number of years with Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) in the Shariah Coordination Department (known today as “Dar Al Shariah”) and worked closely with Dr.Hussein Hamid Hassan. Prior to DIB, he worked for HSBC Plc in London and as a law lecturer. He was ranked among the Worlds’ leading scholar by FAILAKA (2008), and received the ZAKI BADAWI Award for Outstanding Young Shariah Advisory (2009).
He also advises various financial institutions in the UK and overseas and is a member of their Shariah Boards.
Mufti Muhammad is an Islamic Jurist and English qualified lawyer. He studied Shariah (in a traditional Madrasa environment) including Arabic language and literature, Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Tafseer, Hadith, and completed the Shahaadatul Aalamiyyah and obtained BA/MA (Islamic Theology) from Darul Uloom Bury, UK. He subsequently spent another year at the same institution specialising in Fiqh. (Islamic Jurisprudence).
Mufti Muhammad holds LL.B (Hons), Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Skills (City University) and LL.M (Master of Laws) in Banking and Finance Law (University College London, UK).
Sheikh Zubair Miah
Secretary to the Shariah Supervisory Board & Internal Shariah Advisor & Compliance
Sheikh Zubair completed his memorisation of the Qur’an at the age of 16 at Darul Uloom Islamic College, Bury, UK. He continued with his Islamic studies at the same prestigious institute and received a Degree/Ijazah (Classical Certification) by completing the extensive six-year Islamic Theology course, whose syllabus includes, Arabic, exegesis of the Qur’an and Ahadith, Islamic Jurisprudence, and Fiqh.
Subsequently, Sheikh Zubair attained an LLB (Hons) from University of Kent at Canterbury and completed his Legal Practice Course (LPC) in 2010 at the College of Law (Bloomsbury).
Sheikh Zubair is the co-author of the study text book ‘Principles of Takaful’, currently taught by Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) at an Advanced Diploma level. Sheikh Zubair continues to educate, train and advise insurers and intermediaries operating within the London insurance market on Islamic insurance, or, as some may know it – Takaful.
Sheikh Nizam Yaquby
Chairman of the Shariah Supervisory Board
As an internationally recognised scholar in the Islamic finance industry, Sheikh Nizam holds influential positions on Shariah boards of many international and regional financial institutions and insurance companies. He is a member of the Shariah boards of internationally recognised standard-setting bodies including the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the International Islamic Financial Market (IIFM) as well as Islamic indices such as the Dow Jones Islamic Market Index.
He pursued traditional Islamic studies in Mecca, India and Morocco under the guidance of eminent Islamic scholars including Shaikh Abdulla al-Farisi, Shaikh Yusuf al-Siddiqi, Shaikh Muhammed Saleh al-Abbasi, Shaikh Muhhamed Yasin al Fadani (Makkah), Shaikh Habib-ur-Rahman A. Zaini (India) and Shaikh Abdulla bin Al-Siddiq Al-Ghumar (Morocco). Sheikh Nizam holds a PhD in Islamic Law from the UK’s University of Wales, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Comparative Religion from Canada’s McGill University. Sheikh Nizam has been a visiting lecturer at Harvard University.
Sheikh Nizam has a wealth of experience of Islamic finance and sits on the Shariah boards of many major Islamic banks.
Contact Us
Cobalt Underwriting Services
1st Floor, 63 St Mary Axe
London EC3A 8AA
enquiry@cobaltuw.com
020 3642 0200 (Main)
Cobalt Underwriting Services
Cobalt Underwriting Services Limited (“CUSL”) is a company incorporated in England, Company Number 07979365, and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 605713) under Part IV permission to undertake a range of regulated activities.
CUSL operates as a fully Shariah-compliant Underwriting Agency (or Managing General Agent) based in the City of London focusing on the provision of Shariah-compliant insurance and reinsurance products and services.