Reform director says market needs to build on its hard work
Sue Langley, director of market operations and North America at Lloyd's, today wrote to the Lloyd's and London market, following on from the MRG's release of its 2008 goals and its 2007 progress.
She said:
"The Market Reform Group announcement clearly shows the progress that we have made towards making this market a more efficient place to do business. In all three of the key workstreams - Accounting and Settlement (A&S), Electronic Claims Files (ECF) and Contract Certainty- the market has embraced new systems and shown a determination to change the way it does business.
"In terms of electronic claims, over 80 brokers are now live, accounting for approximately 92% of claims by volume. As you may be aware, ECF has been difficult to accurately measure but an independent review of the figures shows that approximately 88% of in scope claims and 75% of all claims are now being handled electronically. Many brokers are reporting a reduction in settlement time thus improving our service to our customers.
"The targets that we set were challenging and the market, as it has done so many times in the past, has risen to the challenge. There are a minority of brokers who are still to join up to use ECF and we expect all brokers to be using the system by March. Work to improve the functionality and usability of the system continues and we are also reviewing the remaining 15% of business that cannot currently be processed electronically.
"After a slow start, use of A&S has increased rapidly with over 70% of original premium related transactions now processed using the system. There is market wide agreement to this paper service ceasing in April and Xchanging are already reporting a noticeable reduction in crates transported to Chatham.
"Finally progress on contract certainty has continued throughout the last year, remaining consistently over 90% and becoming embedded as a business as usual process. The old ways of checking policies have now stopped and a condensed version introduced. If a Lloyd’s jacketed policy is still required, it can also now be produced electronically rather than on paper.
"We need to build on this progress over the coming year and move to the next stage in business reform – including making the claims process easier, moving to the next stage of A&S and investigating options for electronic placement.
"I would like to thank you for your hard work and support over the last year. I know it has not been easy but the advancements we have made demonstrate quite clearly what can be achieved if we work together."
Sue Langley
