Lloyd’s and international insurer Beazley announced that underwriters placing business for the company now have access to the Lloyd’s Exchange. The processing system will enable them to “undertake electronic placing, endorsements and other market initiatives,” said the bulletin, adding that this is the “first step towards achieving end-to-end, straight through processing for risks and claims within Beazley.”
Ian Fantozzi, Group Head of E-Business, commented: “Beazley is now fully open for business electronically. We have always prided ourselves on using cutting edge technology to deliver a more efficient service for our brokers and clients; for example pioneering webcams and text messaging to reduce queuing times in the market.
“Our adoption of the system means that we will be making a very significant contribution to the volume of business transacted through the Lloyd’s Exchange – and this will increase as the renewal season gets into its stride.
“With the recent announcement that Marsh, Aon, and Willis are committing to use the Lloyd’s Exchange for endorsements, we expect to see significant efficiency gains in this area” [See IJ web site – https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2009/11/16/105346.htm].
He pointed out that Beazley’s underwriters currently handle around 30,000 endorsements a year. “If an underwriter can save just three minutes on each of these by dealing with them on line, this alone frees up nine months of manpower.
“Even more importantly, response times can be faster, with submissions sent to the underwriters ahead of a visit to the box, and errors can be reduced with data only being entered once.” One of the principle aims of installing electronic processing at Lloyd’s has been the necessity of reducing “re-keying” errors. Re-entering data is not only time consuming, but also inevitably produces mistakes, which take more time to find and correct.
One of the drawbacks, frequently cited by brokers and underwriters, which has delayed the adoption of electronic processing has been the fear of losing personal contacts. However, in Fantozzi’s opinion “the face-to-face negotiation that is a fundamental strength of the Lloyd’s market is only enhanced by this system.”
He explained that “Beazley’s focus is on complex risks – for example we insure four out of the top five global management consulting firms and some of the world’s biggest construction projects. The adoption of the right technology frees up more time for the creative solutions in which the market specializes.”
Sue Langley, Director of Market Operations and North America at Lloyd’s, commented; “I am glad that Beazley have publicly committed to use the Lloyd’s Exchange. Only by businesses starting to move to live messaging can we truly push this forward.”
Moreover, the Lloyd’s Exchange is not a “one size fits all” system. Beazley noted that its “access to the Lloyd’s Exchange is through Universal Messaging Gateway (UMG) OnLine, provided by London Market reform technology specialists TriSystems, who have been working with insurance practitioners since 1992.” As such, the proprietary information of those brokers, carriers and the underwriters who work for them, is protected.
Source: Beazley Group – www.beazley.com
Topics Excess Surplus Underwriting Lloyd's
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