(Bloomberg) – Lloyd's of London,the insurance market founded in the British capital in1688, plans to open a European Union hub in Brusselsfollowing the U.K. vote to leave the bloc.

The company expects the office to be open by the beginning of2019, it said in a statement on Thursday. Headcount for the newoperation will be in the "tens, not the hundreds," with some peoplemoving from London and some recruited locally, Chairman John Nelsonsaid in a Bloomberg TV interview.

Related: Inside Lloyd's: Demystifying the inner workings ofthe world's most famous insurance market

British companies and international financial firms areconsidering how to continue serving European clients should theU.K. withdraw not just from the EU, but also from its single marketand customs union.  Inga Beale, chief executive officer ofLloyd's of London, said in January she would push ahead with plansfor a European headquarters outside of Britain after U.K. PrimeMinister Theresa May stated the case for a so-called hardBrexit.

"Brussels' position as a financial center is improving, whichcould inspire other insurers and specialized financial institutionsfor which Brussels already has a strong tradition," Belgian FinanceMinister Johan Van Overtveldt said, according to Belganewswire.

Belgium's regulatory regime and an existing insurance talentpool in Brussels influenced the company's decision to place the hubin Brussels, which is "at the heart of the EU," Nelson said in theinterview. Lloyd's of London took a close look at five or sixcountries, he said.

Exit strategies

American International Group Inc., the global provider ofcommercial property-casualty coverage, said on March 8 it plans toopen an insurer in Luxembourg to write businessin the European Economic Area and Switzerland after Brexit. AIGcurrently writes business in Europe from a single insurer based inthe U.K. Lloyd's of London insurer Hiscox Plc. has said itwill choose between Malta and Luxembourg, while  BeazleyPlc has said it will turn its Dublin-based reinsurance operationinto an insurance subsidiary.  

As a market for risk coverage, Lloyd's of London doesn'tunderwrite insurance itself, but rather through about 100registered syndicates. About 11 percent of its volume come from EUcountries outside of the U.K. and Lloyd's of London will still beable to underwrite some of that business from the British capital,Beale said.

Full-year pretax profit was unchanged at 2.1 billion pounds($2.6 billion), Lloyd's of London said Thursday. The company'sreturn on capital was 8.1 percent compared with 9.1 percent a yearearlier, while gross written premiums increased to 29.9 billionpounds from 26.7 billion pounds in 2015.

Unexpected benefits?

Setting up a hub on the continent may have unexpected benefitsfor Lloyd's of London, allowing it to expand into EU markets moredeeply, Nelson said.

On Brexit "we're very pleased that the country is getting onwith the negotiations" of leaving the bloc, Nelson said. "Ifuncertainty persists, it will almost encourage businesses to leaveLondon.

"I personally believe that London will remain the majorfinancial center for Europe," he said. "It's certainly going toremain the major financial center for Lloyd's."

Related: Lloyd's underwrites insurance for Amazon sellersworried about being suspended