AEGIS London sees 'record' e-trading as COVID-19 pushes market to move online

Lloyd's managing agency AEGIS London saw record-breaking volumes of business transactions through its electronic quote-and-bind platform Opal, as the London market entered a "new world of electronic trading" during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The syndicate's e-trading platform handled over $5 million of net premium for the first time in May. Opal has now generated $100m net for the syndicate since the platform’s launch in 2016.

Opal was launched in 2016 to provide a means for SME business, previously thought uneconomical for London underwriters, to be written in Lloyd’s.

David Croom-Johnson, AEGIS London’s managing director, said: “These landmark numbers for Opal demonstrate the significance of the contribution made by the platform to AEGIS London’s financial performance. The suspension of face-to-face trading at Lloyd’s has certainly provided impetus, but the direction of travel was already clear. Opal is seeing double-digit growth year-on-year. Electronic trading will increasingly ensure we remain a top quartile performer in the Lloyd’s market.”

Tom Squires, AEGIS London’s head of digital trading, said: “These latest Opal numbers vindicate our strategy of exploring the benefits of electronic trading and distribution. Opal and PPL are currently the two key planks of this strategy, but our aim is to broaden our distribution and user-base further.

“I think it’s fair to say that this year has seen the London market enter a new world of electronic trading and we intend to maximise the benefits we can gain from it.”