Chubb, Liberty Mutual among insurers backing Lloyd's innovation facility
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U.S. insurers Chubb Ltd. and Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. are among 12 insurers at Lloyd's of London supporting a £53 million ($67.35 million) facility that will trial innovative types of insurance for complex and non-standard risks, Lloyd’s announced Tuesday.
Led by senior underwriters from Tokio Marine Kiln Group Ltd., Beazley PLC, MS Amlin PLC, Talbot Group, Liberty Specialty Markets, Hiscox Ltd., Ascot Underwriting Ltd., Chubb, Chaucer, Brit Ltd., Antares Underwriting Services Ltd. and Apollo, the initiative was facilitated by Trevor Maynard, Lloyd’s head of innovation, a Lloyd’s spokesman said.
The collaboration is designed to speed up development of coverages for new and emerging risks such as intangible assets, supply chain risks and artificial intelligence, Lloyd’s said in a statement.
“Working closely with Lloyd’s innovation team, the group has put forward this new concept of product development by agreeing to support one another’s initiatives with £53m of capacity in the first instance. The facility is still open to other market participants to join,” Mr. Maynard said in the statement.
The move was welcomed by the U.K.-based risk management association Airmic Ltd. “Airmic has been campaigning for meaningful insurance innovation for years and we are hopeful that this will help take forward our recommendations and sow the seed for genuine new solutions coming on the market,” Julia Graham, Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director, said in a statement.
The risk-based oversight process that Lloyd’s applies to its syndicates will apply to the new facility, but innovative new lines of business are not expected to be immediately profitable, a Lloyd’s spokesman said.
In May, Lloyd’s unveiled a wide-ranging plan that aims to halve the cost of doing business in the market and move much of its business online.
Part of that strategy aims to deliver transformational initiatives that could shape the future of the market.
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