Lloyd's Top Priorities: Modernization, Underwriting Systems, and Brexit

Market modernization, underwriting systems upgrades, and Brexit preparations are the top three 2018 priorities of Lloyd's market chief operating officers (COOs), a survey commissioned by the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) reveals.

The research provides a comprehensive picture of the concerns, opinions, and priorities of the market's most senior operations personnel. Significant findings include the following.

• Within market modernization initiatives, delegated authority transformation has the highest priority, and 93 percent believe straight-through processing is a viable option for delegated authority relationships.

• All respondents are planning systems upgrades in 2018. Almost 77 percent plan to upgrade coverholder reporting systems and processes.

• Brexit is seen as an internal and market-level priority issue for 2018 by a majority of COOs. Managing agencies slightly favor the use of the Lloyd's Brussels subsidiary (57 percent) over the creation of their own EU subsidiary (43 percent).

Tom Payne, market operations director at the LMA, said, "It is widely understood that the Lloyd's market faces an increasingly challenging environment, with COOs having a key role to play in this changing landscape. The LMA Operations Committee (LMAOC) is uniquely placed to represent the operational community in areas where working collectively can drive clarity and value."

Sheila Cameron, head of international operations at Navigators and chair of the LMAOC, said, "The LMAOC felt that the voice of the COO needed to be more clearly articulated in the context of market modernization, operational improvement, and expense management. This survey, the first of its kind to be commissioned, will help to achieve this. For the first time, the views of Lloyd's market COOs have been brought together, assessed and collated with the intention of articulating the business and operational challenges faced by managing agents."