My first Minority report
During the meet and greet with her teacher, a young graduate not long out of school herself, I became conscious of how uncomfortable I must look - dishevelled from the fraught daily commute and...
View ArticleHas it been worth the sweaty palms and nerves?
Last Wednesday evening I presented to over 150 market participants, although not the biggest audience ever, most of these were friends and colleagues who wouldn’t forgive any nervousness. It's been...
View ArticleMagpies love shiny things...
My profile photo has not only been emblazoned across lloyds.com but has played a ‘starring’ role in demonstrating our touch tables. It’s not my best side but at least people won’t recognise me… What a...
View ArticleTouch tables hit the big screen
For those who didn't...check out the video we had created of the touch tables in action on the underwriting floor at Lloyd’s. It’s very exciting to see how technology can be used and could shape the...
View ArticleTen steps to cyber security
This week, I attended a conference hosted by GCHQ which encouraged companies to create a more security-conscious culture and offered practical advice on how to do so.The factsheet, 10 steps to Cyber...
View ArticleLooking Ahead to 2013
The effect of such weather patterns is obviously more likely to impact the UK domestic carriers who write large personal lines books and so there’s a lot to be said for remaining selectively niche...
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Emerging perils of the sea
Over 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic, the number of ships in operation has increased threefold, rising to over 100,000 waterborne vessels and is ever increasing, exacerbating the risk of...
View ArticlePrivate navy to target Somali pirate threat
Providing escort for oil tankers and other such vessels, it is hoped that this new initiative will provide ship owners and the shipping companies with the means to deter the Somali pirate threat and...
View ArticleBehaviour and decision making
The report demonstrates how biases in risk perception can arise and subsequently affect our choices.People make decisions based on a subset of the available evidence. When identifying and judging a...
View ArticleWreck removal on the seas...
Weighing in at 114,137 gross tons with a length of 952 ft, it has the capacity to hold 3,780 passengers and 1,100 members of crew. The ship struck a rock off the coast of Isola del Giglio at 21:45 on...
View ArticleTackling cyber threat together
This pilot involving 160 companies across five sectors is an excellent step forward in the task to understand cyber risks. Lloyd's has been monitoring cyber risks for a number of years - indeed this...
View ArticleLloyd's focuses on renewable energy
For both the UK and Ireland, the challenge is particularly onerous with, for example, respective individual targets of 30% and 40% of gross electricity consumption to be contributed by renewables in...
View ArticleSolar storm threat
There is nothing unusual in such bursts of solar activity, but there is increasing concern among insurers, governments and others that one of these severe solar storms could cause major disruption to...
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Ship Spotting in Piraeus
As a part of the Lloyd’s Claims Graduate Programme, I recently attended a course in Greece designed to further my marine insurance knowledge. Run by Braemar Technical Services (incorporating the...
View ArticleA warm welcome from Airmic
The Brighton Centre and the Grand Hotel played host to over 800 delegates and although the weather was typically British (overcast, chilly and windy) the welcome was altogether warmer. Recognising the...
View ArticleIntelligent information
As a new joiner to the Market Intelligence team, I was impressed to see the range of products available to support managing agents, brokers and coverholders with their international business...
View ArticleAdding value to India's insurance market
This was the message that emerged from a recent event held by Lloyd’s for the launch of its latest India Class Review. Class Review is a Market Intelligence product (produced with the support of the...
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Subsea cables and the insurance risks involved
Intercontinental broadband connections, cross-channel power transmission and renewables are all fully reliant upon such technologies and the submarine environments which host them. The risks that...
View ArticleLloyds Volume Claims Service - From Concept to Reality
The logic behind this decision was that the Lloyd’s market currently handles these claims within normal managing agent processes and some research to determine if there was a more effective process...
View ArticleCyber risk on the rise
Lloyd’s 2013 Risk Index provides just such an insight into the risks preoccupying top executives. As in previous years the highest priority risks predominantly relate to economic and regulatory factors...
View ArticleA summer of internships
Arguably just as important as getting the grades at GCSE, A-level and degree level, is the development of young people’s skills in the workplace, drawing attention to the internship programmes offered...
View ArticleForecasting the Future
The first product to benefit from forward looking predictions is Compare Countries. This is an existing Market Intelligence product which provides high level statistics for the economy, insurance...
View ArticleWhat happens when the claims occur?
This new capital is likely to impact both the current contracts underwritten in the market and also introduce new structures. One question which must be kept in mind at the point of design or...
View ArticleOpportunities in Asia
At a recent market presentation Alex Faris, Senior Market Development Manager, Lloyd’s Asia and Kim Swan, General Representative, Hong Kong, spoke about how Lloyd’s is maximising these opportunities in...
View ArticleWildfires: Liability insurers on the hook?
So, what are the key drivers behind wildfires? Wildfires are a natural process, which is an important agent for the local ecosystem, and many areas are adapted to them. Whether naturally ignited or...
View ArticleIPCC 5: Anything new?
The much awaited first tome, which focuses on the science of climate change, was published on 27 September and has been the victim of several leaks, with at least three confidential drafts made public...
View ArticleClimate Change: The future is in our hands
I find it fascinating that the consensus around this has grown since 1995 from just 50%. The laws of physics haven’t changed over this period and nor has our general understanding of them: carbon...
View ArticleAsia Agenda
To kick off, we are hosting a Lloyd’s Day in Beijing on 10 October 2013. Strongly supported by syndicates and brokers from London, Singapore and Hong Kong, the event will bring together Chinese cedants...
View ArticleFrench appetite
At Lloyd’s recent France Market Presentation, Lloyd’s France Country Manager Guy-Antoine de La Rochefoucauld remained optimistic that it was possible for both insurers and reinsurers to develop...
View ArticleLloyd's Day in China
Lloyd’s Director of Performance Management Tom Bolt gave an opening address and the event was also supported by Wang Zhichao, Secretary General of the Insurance Association of China, as well as Li...
View ArticleLocal knowledge for Latin America
Spanish-speaking Latin America has traditionally not received the same level of development attention as has been true for the BRIC countries. However, Mexico’s development policies have focused on...
View ArticleHey Jude
Xynthia cost the insurance industry EUR1.32 billion and early indications are that pay-outs from Christian will exceed EUR1.0 billion. Christian (or St Jude as it was called in the UK, due to its...
View ArticleFrom concept to reality to actuality
In my blog on 31 July 2013, I discussed the Lloyd’s Volume Claim Service and how over a period of two years it had moved from being a concept to a reality. Four months on from that point, sustained...
View ArticleBrazil in the spotlight
At Lloyd’s recent Brazil Market Presentation, Marco Castro, Lloyd's General Representative & Managing Director of Lloyd's Brazil, painted a promising picture of the expansion of the region's...
View ArticleReinsurance - the evolution starts here
On one side, there is a trend for primary companies to retain more risk, effectively shrinking the pool of business available to reinsurance companies. On the other, capital from third-party investors...
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Removing unexploded weapons of war
Major inter-continental warfare and the development of modern, better developed and better armed fleets plagued much of the twentieth century. As a consequence, spent munitions, ‘dud’ rounds and ocean...
View ArticleReinsurers react as buyers ring the changes
Three Lloyd’s brokers - Aon Benfield, Guy Carpenter and Willis Re – each released their reviews of the global reinsurance market, detailing the forces playing on the reinsurance supply and demand...
View ArticleClaims Transformation Programme - 100,000 claims and counting
In 2008, the Lloyd’s claims community commenced a journey, with the ambition to transform the way the market handles claims to enhance the experience of the customer. This led to the formation of the...
View ArticleLloyd's Volume Claims Service - decision time
Up to this point in time, Lloyd’s managing agents have been asked to indicate whether they would buy something which was still being built and was evolving. The project team in conjunction with several...
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Are 'ghost ships' a threat to the marine industry?
Whilst under tow from Canada to ship breaking yards in the Dominican Republic, the 1,565-ton vessel broke free and was set adrift following a storm in the Atlantic. At present, the ship has yet to be...
View ArticleIsrael: Insuring an innovative nation
Given Lloyd's long history of finding creative solutions to insuring unique risks; I was keen to understand more about Israel's insurance market. I gained some helpful insight from Lloyd's recent...
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Comparing countries - the Lloyd's way
What is Compare Countries and how can it be used? Compare Countries is the core business development tool provided by the Lloyd’s Market Intelligence team. It’s a one-stop-shop for high level...
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Food security - recognised by The City
Alderman Fiona Wolfe, the Lord Mayor of London, along with Dr Julie Maxton, the Executive Director of the Royal Society, awarded the prize at a fascinating evening where companies large and small were...
View ArticleThe 540 billion dollar question
Reinsurer capital hit a new high in 2013 on the back of generally solid earnings of major insurers and reinsurers and a continuing influx of new funds from capital markets investors. It was partially...
View ArticleAre Mexican insurers becoming more international?
In the past I have talked about how Mexican companies are becoming increasingly international, with significant investments not just across Latin America but also the US, Europe and Asia. Foreign...
View ArticleImportant UK dates for the diary
We have hosted exhibition stands and conducted workshops at these conferences since 2010 and the benefits of participating in these events, are evident. Our presence at these events has generated a...
View ArticleCatastrophe modelling and climate change
Today Lloyd's is publishing a report on the impact of climate change on current catastrophe models. The emerging risks team at Lloyd’s was delighted to work with modelling experts who have each...
View ArticleClimate model uncertainity
The report, Climate Model Uncertainty, is quite technical and describes the types of uncertainty that are currently (and probably unavoidably) contained in these supercomputer models. I was involved in...
View ArticleInfrastructure builds opportunities for Mexican insurers
Economists have argued that reducing poverty is strongly associated with increasing numbers of a country's population having access to infrastructure services. According to estimates from the World...
View ArticleClaims Reporting Suite: A voyage of discovery
The Lloyd’s insurance market Claims Reporting Suite (CRS) is a series of interactive web based apps available for both Lloyd’s and managing agents. The CRS was developed as part of the Lloyd’s Claims...
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