Lloyd’s of London in early 2020 announced its “Future at Lloyd’s” initiative with the goal of utilizing technology in innovative ways and embracing new methods of modernizing the insurance lifecycle. The end result is to employ a smoother, more efficient, and faster platform in delivering products and policy renewals and endorsements and in settling claims. Faster and more efficient access to Lloyd’s marketplace will ideally enable and encourage more product innovation at lower acquisition costs and, ultimately, at a lower cost for the insured.
There are three phases to the “Future at Lloyd’s”: Blueprint One, Blueprint Two, and Blueprint Three, with the first phases already presented. Blueprint One outlined Lloyd’s priorities for 2020, which included investment in and development of an electronic placing platform (PPL), improvements to claims processes (including an automated settlement pilot), and a new digital solution for coverholder business as part of the Lloyd’s risk exchange, among other objectives.
Blueprint Two provides clear standards for data to be presented in a certain way across any proprietary system. This is designed to eliminate duplicate entry, reduce errors, and allow for cleaner, more accurate data to flow through the distribution chain. Everyone – from brokers to wholesalers, MGAs, MGUs and program administrators – will be able to transact the business of insurance in a seamless, frictionless and standardized fashion. Agents and brokers will be able to enter data in the same way instead of the myriad methods being employed now. Wholesalers and Lloyd’s syndicates won’t have to re-enter the data as they do now, eliminating the need for double and even triple data entry.
In addition, Blueprint Two outlines a new Lloyd’s marketplace gateway and super-fast processing capability that will allow coverage to be evidenced and issued in minutes and simultaneously create technical accounting records. This phase also outlines a streamlined claims process, taking an average of three days off transaction times by reducing the number of people who need to be involved in complex claims.
The aim, according to Lloyd’s, is to deliver significant operational efficiencies, making it simpler and more efficient for market participants to trade, with an estimated aggregate reduction of £800m in operating costs for brokers, underwriters, and business partners.
