Lloyd’s of London set outs electronic modernisation drive
Lloyd’s of London has unveiled plans for an electronic risk exchange as part of a sweeping company overhaul aimed at modernising the 331-year-old marketplace.
The historic insurance group, which has faced growing calls to revamp both its business model and its culture in recent months, has vowed to deliver a series of “early quick wins” in 2020.
Read more: Insurance industry wrestles with diversity deficit
The specialist marketplace has said it will launch an electronic risk exchange next year as part of a company-wide push to slash costs and retain its position as a leading global hub.
In its strategy blueprint announced this afternoon, Lloyd’s announced plans to launch an exchange which it claimed would be able to process as much as 40 per cent of Lloyd’s risks over time.
Lloyd’s also said it will pilot a solution that automatically triages claims to speed up settlement and introduce “simplified onboarding for Lloyd’s coverholders”.
Boss John Neal told City PM: “The marketplace’s halo has slipped a little bit over the last few years but we’ve begun to recapture it.”
He said: “Stakeholders said to us; demonstrate the market can perform and you tackle the cost of doing business.”
Read more: London house price growth remains below UK city average
A spate of natural disasters, coupled with greater competition from abroad and high costs, has pushed up losses at the marketplace in recent years.
In its most recent rest of financial results the firm reported a four-fold profit rise on the back of gains in investment income, but the news has been overshadowed by sexual misconduct allegations that have thrown a spotlight on the firm’s culture.
Earlier this month the firm revealed in a company survey that almost 500 employees had witnessed sexual harassment in the last 12 months.