Panel Lauds London Market’s Electronic Success

A panel of insurance market figures “were in overwhelming agreement today that London is leading the way in the global competitive market place,” said a bulletin from electronic processing firm Xchanging, who sponsored the panel discussion.

The panel entitled “London Market Reform: How is the Market Responding?” addressed a number of key issues about the market’s technological progress at the annual Insurance Technology Congress.

Xchanging said that for different reasons “each of the four panelists agreed that the collaborative efforts of a wide range of participants across the market over many years had contributed to London maintaining its position on the world stage.

“One panelist cited the example that seven years ago around one third of clients received contract documents within 30 days; today it is over 95 percent. Others felt that, for complex contracts, there was no faster place in the world than London, which bore testimony to the effectiveness of the collective reforming efforts.”

Additional reasons cited by panelists as further evidence of London’s progress in using technology, and giving it a competitive edge included the following: — ECF [Electronic claims filing] has reduced settlement times by 60 percent
— The repository has reduced processing time from five days to three
— The levels of contract certainty and use of ACORD messaging in London are unseen elsewhere in the world
— e-Accounts and e-Endorsements were also hailed as crucial factors in London’s leading position.

The panel nonetheless agreed that there is still a lot more work to be done, in particular with endorsements. “The gauntlet was thrown down that the real challenge was in brokers and underwriters overcoming their own resistance to change,” said the bulletin. One panelist summed it up, stating: “Courage and determination are the key characteristics required as the technology is there; it works and is producing tangible results.”

Source: Xchanging

Topics London