LMA, FOIL welcome Lloyd’s Blueprint One but highlight caveats for success

The success of Lloyd’s Blueprint One will depend on “our ability to innovate and evolve our model” to ensure the market continues to offer outstanding underwriting products and services to our customers,'' according to Sheila Cameron, Lloyd’s Market Association CEO.

Following the launch of the blueprint yesterday (September 30), Cameron said the market’s ambition to be the most advanced insurance marketplace in the world “is achievable” but added the caveat that this would be dependent on how well the market model can innovate and evolve to ensure customer service is maintained. “It is absolutely right that this is the primary focus of the Future at Lloyd’s, which is why it has the broad support of the LMA and the wider market,” she said.

“I am reassured that many of the comments and questions posed in our response to Lloyd’s have been addressed or acknowledged in Blueprint One. We look forward to seeing more detailed development of the six integrated solutions that will form the future Lloyd’s ecosystem and help to shape the development of some of the supporting strands such as modern risk syndication.”

Jennette Newman, president of London FOIL and Clyde & Co partner, said the blueprint “has the potential to help safeguard Lloyd’s as London faces up to challenging times ahead – not least Brexit”.

Newman called the ambition and scope of change “impressive” but cautioned that it was now “crunch time” as Lloyd’s moves from words to actions.

“The structural changes are substantial and not all businesses will benefit – maintaining a sense of progress will be critical if the blueprint is to deliver.

“Binder and delegated authority business traded on the Lloyd’s Risk Exchange is in the vanguard of change and it will be important for market confidence overall that this transitions smoothly. Businesses will also need to see that triaging of claims and the Syndicate in a Box can indeed deliver the efficiency and speed which are so essential to improved performance. To succeed, all of these changes will need to be underpinned by the seamless adoption of new technology.”

She also highlighted the “cultural backdrop” against which these changes are happening. Newman said: “It will make no difference what structural or business changes are introduced if Lloyd’s can’t demonstrate that a significant cultural shift is underway. Lloyd’s ability to see through a complex modernisation programme hinges on its ability to prove it is the natural home for professional, trusted, high performing and diverse teams.”

The fanfare for Blueprint One included the unveiling of Munich Re as the first reinsurer to use the Syndicate in a Box initiative. Peter Roeder, Munich Re board member, said that launching this new syndicate at this time underlined the company’s long-standing and emphatic commitment to innovation.

“We are very pleased to house Lloyd’s first SIAB in Munich Re Syndicate Ltd, and we believe that this will not only benefit Munich Re, but will provide significant advantages to the wider Lloyd’s market, which we remain fully committed to,” he said.

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