Lloyd’s Brexit transition a ‘huge challenge’ says Spink

Huge challenges around a post-Brexit transition still lie ahead for Lloyd’s, Hayley Spink, Brexit programme director at Lloyd’s of London, told delegates at the Fitch Ratings Insurance Roadshow in London.

She said that transposing policies into the EU “will be huge for Lloyd’s, going right back to the days of the 1990s in regard to any policy which had any EEA within it which is going to be transferred into Lloyd’s Brussels”.

Spink said Lloyd’s had “been lobbying hard to find political way of dealing with this”.

“You’d expect regulators across Europe to be acting in the best interest of their clients. Is it in the best interests of the clients to force all UK insurers to go through a part seven, which includes sending them all individual letters which they might not understand causing a lot of confusion and taking time for insurers and distributions channels.”

She said that while preparation had started and was “moving as fast as we need to with a view to see what’s actually going to come in the agreement”.

Asked if Brexit transitions would be more complex for Lloyd’s because it would have to delve into syndicates that had long since disappeared, she agreed it would be “a very challenging project”.

She added: “We’re going to need the entire transition period. We’re looking at how we can expedite as much as possible and make it the least painful for the policyholder and for our distribution channels as well. That’s the key thing for us.

“We’ve spoken to regulators across the EU and they are comfortable that we are starting the process and they will be supportive.”

She added: “Last year Lloyd’s chairman said we will pay all value claims no matter what, hard Brexit, no hard Brexit, knowing that Lloyd’s is going to take an awful lot longer and it will be far more complex.”

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