Chairman of Kay International PL and Kay International AMEA Limited, Bahram (Brian) Salmanpour, passed away on Aug 9 in London, with his family at his side. Mr Salmanpour, a seasoned insurance market expert, began his career in 1974 by establishing Bland Payne's Lloyd's broker operation in Iran and co-founding Hafez Insurance Co.
Mr Salmanpour played a crucial role in placing property reinsurance and bankers blanket policies in the Middle East. In 1980, he founded Kay International Company in the UK, securing binding authority to write facultative property risks and later obtaining underwriting authorities from prominent Lloyd's syndicates. Brian expanded his influence into Eastern Europe in 1993, setting up insurance operations in Romania, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Bulgaria and Russia.
Notably, Mr Salmanpour secured deprivation cover for Gazprom at Lloyd’s, generating over $19 m in premiums. As co-founder of Londongate PLC in 1998, he established insurance companies across Central Asia and Africa, pioneering British-managed insurance in these regions.
Mr Salmanpour was a dear friend of MEIR, and we send our deepest condolences to his family.