Printed from BusinessInsurance.com

Lloyd’s accelerates modernization efforts with digital push

Posted On: May. 1, 2019 10:24 AM CST

Lloyd's of London

BOSTON — Lloyd’s of London on Wednesday unveiled a wide-ranging plan that aims to halve the cost of doing business in the market and move much of its business online.

The accelerated move to modernize comes after two consecutive catastrophe-hit loss-making years for the market and follows a review by John Neal, new CEO of Lloyd’s.

Jon Hancock, London-based head of performance management at Lloyd’s, said the “bold new strategy” was aimed at delivering “several possible transformational initiatives that could shape the future of the market.”

Mr. Hancock was speaking at a press conference outside the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. annual conference in Boston.

“We live in a different world … Making it easier and cheaper to do business at Lloyd’s is a key element of this,” Mr. Hancock told Business Insurance in an interview after the briefing.

The Lloyd’s prospectus, known as The Future at Lloyd’s, released Wednesday outlines six key initiatives, including a digital platform that would enable the most difficult-to-cover risks to be placed online; and a Lloyd’s Risk Exchange, where less complex risks could be placed faster and more cost-effectively.

Lloyd’s is also looking to allow investors to access new types of capital and to access capital with greater flexibility and efficiency; and to provide fast-track access to underwriting at Lloyd’s, which means that firms could do business from anywhere without needing to have a physical presence in London, according to the plan.

Mr. Hancock said that while Lloyd’s will remain in London for now, as it looks to the future and as part of the consultation process, “nothing is off the table.”

“Do we see this as a move out of London right now? No. Do we see this as a change in the distribution of (the business)? Yes, but that is already happening,” he told Business Insurance.

As part of its digital drive, Lloyd’s is looking at partnering with several technology and insurtech partners, Mr. Hancock told Business Insurance.

“We’ve started the process of talking to lots of potential tech partners, including people in the Lloyd’s innovation lab who do similar things,” he said.

Lloyd’s last year launched a lab for insurtech innovation where tech startups and entrepreneurs could pitch innovative ideas to the market.

Offering automated claims processing and an ecosystem of services that help firms doing business in the market to develop new business and offer better service to their customers are also part of the plan.

A 10-week consultation period will now follow where Lloyd’s speaks with those doing business in the market, customers and other stakeholders.

Lloyd’s expects to publish a blueprint in the fall based on the consultation and to start building some solutions as soon as the fourth quarter of this year, Mr. Hancock said.

At the press conference, Andrew Horton, CEO of London-based Beazley PLC, said: “The world is changing rapidly. If Lloyd’s wants to remain a leading insurance market, it needs to rise to the challenge.”