Twenty-five years ago, the Lloyd’s of London marketplace was teetering on the brink of insolvency, reeling from billions of dollars of asbestos and pollution liabilities. Many of the best brains in the market worked day and night to find a solution that would pay these old-year claims. As a result of those efforts, the market ultimately created the so-called “Reconstruction and Renewal” project, which capped, mutualized and ring-fenced the old-year losses. An existential threat to the marketplace had been averted and it was able to move forward—and thrive.Executive Summary“Syndicate in a box” and having claims paid before customers know they have losses. Those are part of the blueprint for the future of Lloyd’s that also imagines a world where the market uses data and technology to enable customers to buy insurance quickly and easily for the most difficult-to-cover risks. The blueprint is now subject to review and input from the best brains in the insurance and reinsurance business. Until market feedback and engagement are received, no decisions will be made, explained CEO John Neal in May. Here, market participants explain the urgent need for change.
A generation later, in the 21st century, a new threat has emerged—this time not from old-year liabilities but from an attachment to last century’s processes and culture. The effects are far-reaching. Today’s Lloyd’s is sometimes described as too slow, too inefficient, too difficult, too costly, too outdated, too sexist and too stodgy, as well as not as diverse or attractive to younger generations as it needs to be to compete in the global insurance world.
However, leaders at Lloyd’s believe they can make evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes to push and pull the market securely into the 21st century. And once again, Lloyd’s is turning to market participants for help—to get suggestions from the best brains in the insurance and reinsurance business. Ideas from customers and other stakeholders are welcome.