IntAP arose out of the need for information.

Reinsurers of London market companies and Lloyd's Syndicates needed information to verify the asbestos related claims that started to appear in the 1980's.

Although it may have been clear to London market insurers what asbestos related claims were covered and for what amounts they were liable, it was far from clear to many of their reinsurers whether these claims were covered under their reinsurance treaties.

Asbestos claims being what they are, require a substantial amount of information. The idea of this same information being generated by each cedant and analysed by each reinsurer many times over, appeared highly wasteful, yet at the same time, very necessary unless a central clearing house to process this information on behalf of reinsurers could be established.

London, of course, had its own asbestos claims clearing house. At that time Toplis & Harding, which went on to become London Market Claims Services. A subscription market, heavily reliant upon brokers, such as London, was quite used to such an idea. But it was in 1988, at an asbestos claims conference held in London, that the idea of a central clearing house to process London asbestos claims information for reinsurers was first considered.

Before that clearing house was established, it was important that the scope of the information requirements, and the ability to supply it, was agreed between the parties. Over a period of nearly three years the claims representatives from six reinsurers, being Munich Re, Swiss Re, M & G Re (now part of Swiss Re), Gerling Global, Cologne Re (now General Re) and NRG, sat down with the London Asbestos Working Party to define the parameters of the types of information required by reinsurers for the presentation of asbestos claims. In June 1991, the LARI was born. LARI stands for The London Asbestos Reinsurance Information.

The amount of information provided in a LARI is considerable. Consequently the amount of analysis required was beyond the resources of many reinsurers' claims departments. Therefore, the then Cologne Re, as one of the six progenitors of the LARI, took the initiative soon after, to found the International Alliance of Asbestos and Pollution Reinsurers. IntAP.

Cologne Re volunteered to act as the managing member, providing facilities, staff and infrastructure to get the venture off the ground. IntAP e.V. was founded as an association under German Law, to operate on a non-profit basis. Being democratically controlled by the membership through their appointment of a "Vorstand", or Steering Committee. See “IntAP’s Steering Committee”.

The founding meeting of IntAP was held on December 18th 1991 with a membership of 41 companies. A number that has since remained fairly constant, with a small turnover in the member companies. Membership for 2007 comprises 36 companies. See “List Of Members”.

Back in 1991 only Cologne Re's personnel had been elected to the IntAP executive. Now there are seven personnel, drawn from seven member companies, that have been elected to IntAP’s Steering Committee in reflection of IntAP's democratic principals.

Initially, IntAP's primary task was to act as a "liaison between its members and London Market Claims Services". In this regard, it was planned that it would analyse the LARI's produced by LMCS, on its clients' behalf, and provide its findings to its members. This was its prime function up until 1996. Detailed reports were produced, per insured, with a companion report in circumstances where the account comes to London as a reinsurance of a U.S. insured.

A logical development from this was finding common ground with London cedants with the objective of commutation. Mandates began to be received from members as early as 1992, to commence discussions with London reinsureds with that objective in mind.

With this additional specialty in mind, in May 1999 IntAP Limited was incorporated in the UK as a wholly owned subsidiary of IntAP e.V. , to become the operational arm of IntAP.

IntAP Limited conducts reviews and analyses of commutation proposals and if instructed, negotiates on behalf of the member company. Within the IntAP membership are highly experienced claims personnel and reinsurance practitioners that provide these services, all of which are undertaken on a non-profit basis.

On the other hand, some IntAP members have little or no claims personnel with such experience. In fact, for some their involvement in APH claims arises solely from reinsurance Pools. In Pool situations IntAP Limited has been successful in assisting group commutations, with the costs shared proportionately with the instructing companies. Moreover, IntAP Limited can include non-IntAP members in such joint commutation initiatives, provided they accept the same errors and omissions liability limitations that apply to members.