London:
Re/insurance market Lloyd’s announced its decision to merge the Council of Lloyd’s and the Franchise Board, effective from June 1, 2020, after receiving widespread support from across the market.
The news follows five months of consultation across the Lloyd’s market, with more than 90% supporting the proposal to merge the board into the council and create a single governing body for the Corporation of Lloyd’s and the Lloyd’s marketplace, said Lloyd’s in a statement.
The new council will include 15 members, comprising six nominated members, six members elected by the market, and three executives.
Lloyd’s Nominations & Governance Committee is working with the Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown to identify the best combination of members from among the existing independent members of council and board to continue as nominated members of the new council, Lloyd’s continued.
The Lloyd’s market will be invited to participate in an election in April/May 2020 for the market representative members of the council.
Through the Future at Lloyd’s project “we are building a new market that is innovative and responsive to the needs of its customers,” said Carnegie-Brown in a statement. “To do this effectively we need to make our governance structures as efficient as possible. By creating a single governing council, Lloyd’s will combine robust and accountable governance with the ability to make swift decisions when necessary.”
He thanked the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), the Association of Lloyd’s Members (ALM), the High Premium Group (HPG) and Lloyd’s Members Agents for their participation with the process.
Lloyd’s of London had earlier unveiled a blueprint for action to facilitate its Future at Lloyd’s project, which aims to “build the most advanced insurance marketplace in the world.” This first blueprint, called “Blueprint One,” sets out six ideas of improved ways of working, with a focus on digital, data and technology to deliver greater benefits to customers. It will be updated, at least, on an annual basis.
Phase I of the blueprint will be delivered during 2020 and will include early quick wins, including the launch of an electronic risk exchange which could, over time, process as much as 40% of Lloyd’s risks. Munich Re Syndicate will launch Lloyd’s first “Syndicate-in-a-Box” through its Lloyd’s insurer. In addition, Lloyd’s will pilot a solution that automatically triages claims to speed up settlement and introduce simplified onboarding for Lloyd’s coverholders.