Lloyd's of London will use the current wave of financial deregulation as a tail wind to expand business in Japan through its new Japanese unit, according to Lloyd's Japan Inc. President Kunihiko Sasamoto.

Lloyd's Japan, which began operations April 1, is the first overseas direct general agent for London-based Lloyd's, whose history goes back over 300 years. Lloyd's, a pioneer in reinsurance -- insurance for insurance firms -- is known as the king of insurance organizations.

In Japan up to now, Lloyd's had only reinsured its Japanese insurers. Sasamoto said Lloyd's Japan now intends to specialize in underwriting insurance that covers corporate risk, and added that further liberalization of domestic insurance laws could open more business opportunities by encouraging the development of new products. "In Japan, insurance firms sell the policies they themselves want to sell, while Lloyd's aims to sell insurance products the consumer wants to buy. If we dig deeper down to seek (corporate) customer needs, I am confident there is room to open up new product areas," he said.