Acies MGU Launches TEDmar International to Challenge TT Club's Grip on Ports and Terminals Insurance

TEDmar International Brings Fresh Lloyd's Capacity to Ports and Terminals

Acies MGU has launched TEDmar International, a new managing general agent that will write a full package of cover for port and terminal operators and port authorities. The business is led by marine veterans Mark Trevitt, who joins as managing director after heading ports and terminals initiatives at Navigators, and Charlie Newman, who becomes director of underwriting after a stint at IGI. The whole venture is backed entirely by a consortium of Lloyd's capacity, with limits of up to $25 million available for both liability and property damage, plus business interruption cover tied to operational assets.

TEDmar enters a market that has long been the preserve of a single name: TT Club, the mutual insurer based at 90 Fenchurch Street in London. TT Club insures around 80% of the world's maritime containers and holds an interest in over 45% of the top 100 ports globally. That dominance has made it the default market for decades, so TEDmar represents a rare attempt to build standalone Lloyd's capacity alongside the incumbent rather than into a wide-open marketplace.

The launch also comes at a time when marine risk is being rewritten by geopolitics. Rerouting of vessels away from the Suez Canal has increased transit times and introduced new contingent business interruption exposures, a dynamic that feeds directly into the throughput and utilisation figures that define a port's insurance profile. Against this backdrop, marine cargo and stock throughput rates have been softening, with well-performing programmes securing renewal rate reductions of 7.5% to 15% or more.

What TEDmar's Launch Means for a Corner of the Insurance Market

TT Club's 80% Market Share Now Faces a Direct Lloyd's Competitor

For decades, TT Club's scale and mutual structure made it the natural home for port and terminal risk. TEDmar's arrival, backed by a Lloyd's syndicate consortium, gives buyers a genuine alternative for the first time. The new entrant is likely to pressure pricing and demand greater transparency, even if its $25 million capacity lines are smaller than the coverage some of the world's largest terminals require. Trevitt's team has a track record of building three large and profitable P&T portfolios from scratch, which suggests they know how to win business without relying on rate-slashing alone.

Geopolitical Tensions and Evolving Supply-Chain Risks Are Shifting Underwriting Demand

Heightened tension around the Strait of Hormuz has already prompted Lloyd's to back a marine war risk consortium. The longer transit times and supply-chain reconfigurations that have followed are changing what ports need from their insurers—particularly around delay, deterioration and contingent business interruption. TEDmar's explicitly "disciplined, individually underwritten approach" positions it to tailor products to these emerging exposures, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all mutual model.

UK Freeports and Digital Ports Are Opening New Underwriting Opportunities

The UK government's freeport initiative is expanding cargo handling capacity and pulling new logistics providers into port ecosystems. Alongside the continued digital transformation of port operations, this creates fresh demand for specialist insurance covers—from property and equipment to liability for technology-driven processes. TEDmar, as a nimble MGA launched inside Acies' growing stable of niche agencies, is well placed to chase that new business while the incumbent navigates it alongside a much larger book.

What Port Operators and Brokers Need to Know About TEDmar

• Compare coverage terms directly. Port operators and terminal managers should request indicative terms from TEDmar alongside their TT Club renewal. With capacity up to $25 million per section, the MGA can handle many mid-sized and large terminals, and its individually underwritten approach may yield better conditions for sites with strong claims records or lower throughput volatility.
• Re-examine business interruption triggers. TEDmar's policy links business interruption cover to the operational assets that keep terminals running. Given recent supply-chain disruptions, terminals should test exactly how contingent BI and delay losses would be treated under both TEDmar's wording and their existing programme—especially if cargo volumes shift unpredictably.
• Lloyd's backing provides security but also cost discipline. The Lloyd's market is subject to strict capital and reserving standards, meaning capacity is reliable. However, Lloyd's syndicates are profit-driven, so TEDmar will likely price risk more aggressively for accounts that it views as undercharged. Brokers should prepare clients for pricing that may initially look firmer than the soft cargo rates currently available elsewhere.
• Monitor how TEDmar handles freeport and digital exposures. As UK freeports expand and ports incorporate more automated systems, many operators are facing gaps in traditional covers. TEDmar has signalled expertise in marine professional indemnity and operational risk. Early engagement could help shape wordings that capture these new exposures before they become standard market exclusions.