Colonnade Insurance S.A. (Colonnade) is a Luxembourg based non-life insurance company fully owned by Fairfax and established for a strategic expansion of the Fairfax insurance business in Central and Eastern Europe.

We are licensed to underwrite 17 of the 18 statutory classes of non-life Insurance (except Class 10 – Motor Vehicle Liability). Our licenses are extended to Freedom of Services for all EU member states. The company currently maintains and forecasts the maintenance of a strong solvency ratio, well above the required levels. Colonnade is supported by leading global reinsurers with strongest financial security led by, among others, Swiss Re, Hanover Re, Munich Re, BRIT, AWAC, Lloyd’s syndicate, AIG.

We operate through branches in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, and a subsidiary in Ukraine with the help of a team of more than 450 experienced specialists. We offer products for consumer and corporate clients and have an A- financial strength rating for three years. Our registered capital is EUR 9 500 000.

Branches operate on a decentralized basis but having strong internal culture where market practice leaders share their expertise cross-branch. The empowered underwriting teams apply a focused underwriting strategy to their markets.

Executive management

• Peter Csakvari - General Manager
• John Ockenden - Chief Actuary
• Andras Sellyei - Chief Financial Officer
• Natalia Nagornaia - Head of Risk Management
• Babette Chambre - Head of Compliance
• Julien Immelé - Head of Internal Audit

Board of directors

• Bijan Khosrowshahi - Chairman of the Board
• Jean Cloutier - Board Member
• Peter Csakvari - Board Member
• Frederick Gabriel - Board Member
• Leo de Waal - Board Member
• Marnix Ernst Wielenga - Board Member

Our management team

Venislav Yotov
General Manager 

Yanitsa Andreeva
Chief Financial Officer 

Annie Kamenova
Multinational and Compliance Coordinator 

Denitsa Gergova
Head of Consumer Lines 

Emanouil Ivanov
Head of Property & Special Risks & Third Party Liability Lines

Emil Hristov
Risk Engineer 

Spas Alexiev
Head of Claims  

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (www.fairfax.ca) a multinational financial company, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada, is established in 1985. Through its insurance subsidiaries, Fairfax Financial writes a wide variety of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance business in a number of territories, including Canada, the US, Europe and Asia.  Fairfax Financial is a company of considerable financial strength. It had Gross Written Premiums of US$ 9.5 billion in 2016 and shareholders’ equity of US$ 11.8 billion and assets under management of approximately US$ 43.2 billion as at 31 December 2016.

The insurance and reinsurance division of Fairfax Financial Holdings

Fairfax Financial Holdings is a world leader in insurance and reinsurance services. In 2015, Lloyd’s listed Fairfax as the insurance company with the 5th greatest underwriting capacity of 1.38 billion pounds (approximately 1.76 billion euros).

• In business risks insurance, Fairfax Financial Holdings ranked 8th among US insurance and reinsurance companies.
• The American insurance and reinsurance company Odyssey Re, a member of the Fairfax Financial Holdings family, ranked among the twenty largest non-life reinsurance companies in the world.
• Northbridge, a Canadian member of the Fairfax group, is the fifth largest insurer of business risks on the local market.
• Brit Insurance, a British insurance company and one of Lloyd’s leading insurers, joined the holding in February 2015.
• Another recent addition, the Greek insurance company Eurolife Insurance, joined the Fairfax group in December 2015
• Announced a strategic partnership with AIG in October 2016 including the acquisition of AIG’s subsidiaries in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Venezuela and Turkey and the purchase of AIG’s operational assets and renewal rights for Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, all being subject to passing the necessary regulatory approvals.
• Fairfax will become a strategic network partner to support AIG’s Multinational clients in the above-mentioned  countries
• Fairfax is dedicated to make Colonnade Insurance S.A. known as the first-class customer service and innovative solutions insurance company in the Eastern European region

Our values

Our guiding principles have been created to reflect our true nature. Our values therefore include:

• Honesty and integrity are essential in all our relationships and will never be compromised.
• We are results oriented – not political.
• We are team players – no “egos”. A confrontational style is not appropriate. We value loyalty – to Fairfax and our colleagues.
• We are hard working but not at the expense of our families.
• We always look at opportunities but emphasize downside protection and look for ways to minimize loss of capital.
• We are entrepreneurial. We encourage calculated risk taking. It is all right to fail but we should learn from our mistakes.
• We will never bet the company on any project or acquisition.
• We believe in having fun – at work!