Wadih Hardini on why action speaks for itself

Gulf Business

3 days ago

Wadih Hardini is Head of Facultative at Chedid Re Global Operations.
In an industry where perception travels fast, performance often draws scrutiny. Growth calls for grit, resilience, and integrity.
Over the past two decades, our company has grown across multiple dimensions. Today, our partner network spans 400 insurance companies across 85 countries. We've strengthened our presence in Europe through London and Paris offices, set up our regional headquarters in Saudi Arabia, and planted new roots in the UAE's DIFC, where we've expanded operations under the region's most ambitious regulatory frameworks.
We've witnessed many players retreat under pressure from reputational challenges, pricing gaps, or claims burdens. Staying is continuity. It means underwriting with conviction, responding to crises in real time, absorbing shocks, and learning fast.
It starts with investing in our people. Our 400-strong team today represents 15 nationalities, with 40 per cent holding advanced certifications from the most reputable industry bodies and business institutions. This depth is what allows us to go beyond conventional service models and into sector-specific, high-impact solutions covering cyber insurance, D&O, energy, NATCAT modeling, and other critical and niche areas.
Specialisation is the very foundation of our operating model. It's about understanding clients' real-world operations, why they do what they do, and when they need us most. They need us when their liquidity is tested, when regulatory audits come, and when claims threaten to ruin reputations. When losses occur – and they will – our role isn't to find accounting loopholes. It's to bring clarity, fight for resolution, and partner on remediation.
It's a commitment that has also extended to our claims capabilities in a market where delays and deflection are normalised. Leveraging global relationships with loss adjustors, legal advisors, and reinsurers, we've resolved hundreds of complex claims and earned delegated authority across more than 15 lines.
Our role as strategic advisors – not service providers – isn't limited to the business lines we offer. It is reflected in the businesses we choose to serve. We don't cherry-pick our portfolio based on volume, visibility, or profitability. Our clients of all sizes and sectors include multinational insurers, regional conglomerates, and SMEs entering high-risk categories.
The strength we lend these partnerships comes not only from our scale, but also from our structure. Our parent investment group Chedid Capital's support model, built around governance, risk, and compliance, is what allows us to move with confidence in any market. It's also what gives our partners the assurance that we hold the regulatory foundation, the resources, and the reach to protect their growth – nowhere more evidently than in our status as an official Lloyd's broker since 2015. This status is a testament to underwriter trust, transparency, and capacity.
We'll keep investing in talent, technology, and territories. We'll keep pushing for solutions beyond conventional and transactional models. And when the market calls for clarity, we'll answer.
Wadih Hardini is Head of Facultative at Chedid Re Global Operations