Financial and professional lines dominate Lloyd's electronic placement

Financial and professional lines dominate the adoption of the digital Placing Platform Limited (PPL) at Lloyd’s, binding just under 60 percent of their risk over the platform while most major classes are binding over 10 percent, according to data published by the London Market Group.

"Levels of activity on the platform inevitably ebb and flow reflecting renewal activity in the market, but the adoption trend on PPL is moving upwards,” said Bronek Masojada, chair of the PPL board.

“Lloyd’s, the IUA (International Underwriting Association) and LIIBA (London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association) will all be looking to their members to report their activity on all live classes of business in Q2, and we hope that this increased transparency over usage will encourage firms to widen and deepen their activity on the platform. There are still too many firms who have not yet gone live – or even signed up, so I ask all those interested in the long-term success of London to identify what they need to do to get on board and get on with it,” Masojada said.

Christopher Croft, CEO of LIIBA, commented: “LIIBA is working with those members yet to sign up for PPL to help them come on board. We have weekly demos of the system in our offices and these are attracting 40–50 people at a time. We have also now co-opted the help of our board members, each of whom is targeting a specific firm and seeking to persuade them that now is the time.

The Corporation of Lloyd’s has i ntroduced a mandate for electronic placement requiring each syndicate to have written no less than 10 percent of its risks electronically from the end of the second quarter of 2018. This target will rise by 10 percent each quarter until the fourth quarter of 2018 to reach 30 percent. Further targets will be confirmed prior to the end of the period.

“Our goal is to drive adoption from current levels to 30 percent of London risks by the end of 2018,” Masojada said. “And, as importantly, we want those risks to start from submission. Submissions have doubled since the beginning of the year – but from a very low base. If we don’t get it right, right from the start, we are squandering the opportunity to get accurate data at the front end of the placement process and then the critical structured data at the end. We will only be doing part of the job we need to do,” he added.

Daily average practitioner log-ins have doubled since January 2017 on PPL. Risks placed have increased from 300 a week at the end of December 2017 to around 400 at the end of May 2018.

“It’s not just about signing up, though; it’s about using PPL in the most effective way possible," Croft explained. "That means not waiting till the risk is bound to put the data onto the system, but to ensure its used from initial submission. This is how we can ensure that our clients will reap the maximum benefit possible from the market-wide adoption of this innovative technology.”

At introduction of the electronic placement mandate, Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale had said that those that adopt electronic placement in line with the mandate will receive incentives, in recognition of their increased efficiency. At the same time, those that fall short will be required to contribute towards the costs of modernising the market.

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