Aon and funds managed by Blackstone have formally launched Cortina, syndicate 1956 at Lloyd's, with QBE as managing agent, according to an Aon announcement dated 6 November 2026. Cortina intends to begin underwriting from 1 January 2027, subject to final Lloyd's approval.
Cortina received Lloyd's Council's in-principle approval on 16 October 2026 and is completing Making It Happen actions. Permission to underwrite and final Lloyd's approval remain outstanding. QBE is responsible for the syndicate's underwriting and governance.
"Cortina is bringing additional, long-term capital through Blackstone together with QBE's expertise and the strength of Lloyd’s to expand the market’s capacity to take risk, help close protection gaps and enable greater resilience, investment and growth," said Greg Case, President and CEO of Aon.
"By structuring this transaction at Lloyd's, we see the marriage of new long-term capital through our London Bridge 2 framework, with the highest underwriting and oversight standards to create long term value for clients, investors and the marketplace. This is total innovation in action," said Patrick Tiernan, Chief Executive of Lloyd's.
For participating clients, Cortina will write 3% of eligible property catastrophe excess-of-loss treaties and 5% of all other eligible treaties arranged by Aon, subject to a defined framework. Participating clients will receive a dividend based on Cortina's share of their reinsurance programmes. The syndicate will follow the terms and claims decisions set by the lead reinsurer or reinsurers on each placement.
Jason Harris, QBE International CEO, said Cortina is a first-of-its-kind model for reinsurance capacity at Lloyd's and that QBE Re's strategy remains unchanged.
Aon is a global professional services firm providing Risk Capital and Human Capital expertise to clients in over 120 countries. Cortina will provide dedicated, multi-year reinsurance capacity at Lloyd's.
