Lloyd’s of London ramps up modernisation drive as it hits electronic trading target
It is one of the oldest institutions in the City, but there are signs of modernisation at Lloyd’s of London.
The historic specialist insurance market has hit a milestone after completing over 50 per cent of its under-writing deals electronically, meeting a target it set itself for the second quarter of this year.
For more than three centuries most insurers and brokers at Lloyd’s have been doing their deals face-to-face over paper, but now the industry is being encouraged to move its business online as part of a cost-cutting strategy.
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London Market Group, a trade body for London’s specialist commercial (re)insurance brokers and underwriters, said today that Lloyd’s accepted just over 60 per cent of in-scope risks electronically, surpassing its 50 per cent target set for the three-month period.
The group has been looking to slash its costs through boosting its electronic activities after a tough year in which the market made a pre-tax loss of £1bn after a spate of natural disasters.
“These numbers are encouraging and demonstrate a market-wide commitment to modernise the way we do business at Lloyd’s. We must continue with this momentum as well as look to achieve the same success in submission rates,” said John Neal, Lloyd’s chief executive.
Neal has also vowed to modernise cultural practices in recent months to address allegations of sexual harassment that were reported by Bloomberg last year.
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In April the institution set out a new code of conduct that included a ban on its staff drinking between 9am and 5pm.