Beazley : enters five year partnership with the Design Museum

Beazley enters five year partnership with the Design Museum

Beazley Designs of the Year awards and exhibition to showcase breakthrough designs from around the world

London, 31 August, 2016

Specialist insurer Beazley has entered into a five year partnership with the Design Museum, the world's leading museum of contemporary design and architecture, ahead of the museum's move to spectacular new premises in west London in November.

Beazley Designs of the Year will be among the first exhibitions to be held at the Design Museum's new home in Kensington when it opens on 24 November, displaying shortlisted entrants for the museum's annual design awards competition. The internationally renowned competition comprises entries in six categories: architecture, transport, product, digital, fashion and graphics.

The renaming of the awards, now in their ninth year, acknowledges the significant contribution by Beazley to improving this well established event in the design calendar. Beazley's £1m five year sponsorship will support the work of the Design Museum in a variety of ways, including:

• A digital platform to support Beazley Designs of the Year exhibition online, including a public vote, which will enable people from around the world to engage with the exhibition.

• Expanding the museum's educational programme, a key priority in its new, larger location. A series of high profile talks, linking the worlds of risk management and design, is planned.

Design Museum Director Deyan Sudjic said: "Good design has the potential to enhance and often to transform lives. It thrives on openness, which is why London - one of the world's most open cities culturally and economically - is a fitting home for the Design Museum. We are very appreciative of Beazley's support as we identify new ways to promote and explain the increasing importance of good design in our interconnected world."

Beazley chief executive Andrew Horton said: "We are delighted to partner with the Design Museum to celebrate the role that great design plays in all our lives. Design is sometimes identified - too narrowly - with tangible products such as computers or office furniture or kitchen appliances. But it matters just as much to services, such as insurance, without which our world would quickly fall apart. At Beazley, we are committed to offering beautifully designed insurance to our clients around the world."

The announcement comes on the day nominations for the Beazley Designs of the Year are unveiled. This celebration of the world's best designs range from a flat-pack refugee shelter designed by the IKEA Foundation; and Bjarke Ingels' Via 57 West 'courtscraper' in New York; to Post/Biotics, a home testing kit that enables the public to test natural substances in the search for new antibiotics.

The full list of nominations is available on the Design Museum website and the awards winners will be announced in January.

The Design Museum's new location will be within the former Commonwealth Institute building on Kensington High Street. The building has been transformed by designer John Pawson and will offer a threefold increase in size from the museum's former location in Shad Thames. The museum's new home will now feature three exhibition galleries, including a free permanent collection, as well as designated event and learning spaces.

For further information, please contact:

Beazley Group

Hunter Hoffmann [e-mail]

[phone]

Design Museum

Jordan Lewis [e-mail]

[phone]

Note to editors:

Beazley

Beazley plc is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations

in Europe, the US, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Australia. Beazley manages six Lloyd's syndicates and, in 2015, underwrote gross premiums worldwide of $2,080.9 million. All Lloyd's syndicates are rated A by A.M. Best.

Beazley's underwriters in the United States focus on writing a range of specialist insurance products. In the admitted market, coverage is provided by Beazley Insurance Company, Inc., an A.M. Best A rated carrier licensed in all 50 states. In the surplus lines market, coverage is provided by the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd's.

Beazley is a market leader in many of its chosen lines, which include professional indemnity, property, marine, reinsurance, accident and life, and political risks and contingency business.

For more information please go to: www.beazley.com

Design Museum

The Design Museum is building the world's leading museum devoted to architecture and design, its work encompasses all elements of design, including fashion, product and graphic design.

Since it opened its doors in 1989 the museum has displayed everything from a Formula One car to Lady Gaga's Gareth Pugh-designed bin bag dress. It has staged over 100 exhibitions, welcomed over five million visitors and showcased the work of some of the world's most celebrated designers including Paul Smith, Zaha Hadid, Jonathan Ive, Miuccia Prada, Frank Gehry, Eileen Gray and Dieter Rams.

For more information please go to: www.designmuseum.org