Lloyd’s of London’s chief underwriting officer talks recent results and the need for future underwriting discipline
Rachel Turk, chief underwriting officer (CUO) at Lloyd’s of London, spoke to Insurance Times sister title Global Reinsurance at the recent (4 and 5 March 2025) InsTech Exponential Risk event in London, where she was a keynote speaker.
In the wide-ranging conversation, Turk addressed changing perceptions of Lloyd’s, evolving performance management and how the market is positioning itself for the future.
Reflecting on how Lloyd’s is seen externally, Turk acknowledges lingering stereotypes that still exist about the City of London (re)insurance market’s culture and agility.
She says she was initially cautious when approached by outgoing chief executive John Neal about taking the CUO role at Lloyd’s, because it would mean working for the market rather than for an individual carrier like Beazley, where she worked between 2023 and 2009, most recently holding the CUO role.
She laughs at the memory, but notes that Neal had responded quite seriously, saying: “That’s the challenge and that’s why I need to hire you. Because if I hire you, you will be able to attract people of the right calibre and outlook.”
For Turk, senior leadership change at Lloyd’s is part of the market’s transformation.
She says: “It’s about demonstrating that Lloyd’s is a dynamic, performance-driven marketplace that is commercially attractive. We are aware that there has been a perception issue and I think that’s already changing.”
Adapting performance
With the turn of the market cycle, there is increasing pressure on pricing adequacy and performance, but Turk remains firm that Lloyd’s oversight approach is well-equipped for this environment.
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She explains: “What we’ve set up in Lloyd’s over the last few years with the principles-based oversight framework allows us to truly differentiate based on ability and capability.
”Previously, everyone was held to the same minimum standards. Now, we can push the best performers and constrain the lower performers more effectively.”
She also noted that market participants have improved in managing their portfolios, reducing the need for direct intervention.
She adds: “Nobody wants Lloyd’s to have to get back into a world where we’re doing performance management on behalf of the market. That would be a terrible place for us to be.”
Instead, Turk says that Lloyd’s is fostering “much more dynamic conversations” about cycle management, capital allocation and rate adequacy.
“It’s about saying, talk to me about your cycle management. Talk to me about how you’re allocating capital between classes. Talk to me about what metrics you use,” she adds.
“It’s no longer a box-ticking exercise, but rather a process that genuinely drives better outcomes.”
Leadership and the future
Turk’s transition from underwriting to an executive leadership role has given her a new perspective on leadership, influence and decision-making.
She says: “When I was underwriting, I was an expert in one line of business. But when I moved into group roles at Beazley, suddenly I had to look at all these business plans across different classes.
“At Lloyd’s, it’s even broader. I have eight different teams reporting to me, from exposure management to outreach insurance. I don’t need to be an expert in everything, but I need to know enough to take a holistic view and make the right calls.”
This shift from subject matter expertise to strategic leadership is a challenge that that many executives must navigate.
She explains: “There comes a point in your career where you have to be comfortable not knowing everything and instead focus on surrounding yourself with the right people.
“I rely on my teams to be good leaders in their own right, to tell me what I need to know and to challenge my thinking when necessary.”
On the broader attractiveness of Lloyd’s, Turk pointed to structural changes that have made the market more appealing.
She says: “We’ve simplified our charging structures, so businesses coming into Lloyd’s better understand how much it will cost to operate here. The days of wading through 20 pages of fee schedules are gone. That kind of transparency makes Lloyd’s a much more attractive place to do business.”
MGAs in the spotlight
Turk also notes the importance of delegated underwriting and managing general agents (MGAs), which are known as coverholders at Lloyd’s.
Coverholder relationships have been an area of concern in the past, with supervision of managing general agents (MGAs) not always viewed as adequate.
She explains: “Delegated arrangements are in a much better state now than they were five or six years ago, but there is still work to do.
“One red flag for us is when different managing agents have wildly different loss ratio expectations for the same coverholder. If one thinks it’s a 70% loss ratio and another thinks it’s 50%, that’s a problem. It means someone isn’t seeing the full picture.”
Turk also points out that real-time data remains a challenge. She says: “We are in 2025, and yet some companies still don’t have live data coming in from their coverholders. That’s just not acceptable anymore.
“If you’re getting data three months after the fact and then spending another month cleansing it, you’re five months behind. That’s too slow for effective performance management.”
Despite these challenges, she is optimistic about the future.
She finishes:“Lloyd’s is a valuable channel in a multi-platform insurer’s arsenal and there are still insurers out there that don’t have a Lloyd’s presence yet. That’s an opportunity for growth.”
“When it comes to innovation, Lloyd’s should be the preeminent platform for launching new businesses – the syndication benefits and capital structuring advantages are huge.”
- This story first appeared on Insurance Times sister title Global Reinsurance’s website here
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