Brit and Google partner on follow-only digital syndicate Ki

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It aims to significantly reduce time and effort for brokers to place follow capacity using technology

Brit and Google Cloud have collaborated to launch a follow-only syndicate called Ki.

It claims to be the first fully digital algorithmically driven Lloyd’s of London syndicate that will be accessible anywhere at any time.

The partnership is in collaboration with Google Cloud, and the syndicate will be launched in 2021. It aims to redefine the commercial insurance market.

Lloyd’s of London chief executive John Neal said: “Ki truly embraces all that is represented in ‘The Future at Lloyd’s’ by bringing data, technology, innovation and artificial intelligence to the fore in the complex world of corporate and specialty underwriting. It is an exciting first for Lloyd’s and paves the way for others to follow.”

It will follow several ‘nominated’ lead syndicates across the Lloyd’s market, including Brit.

Significant milestone

Brit chief executive Matthew Wilson believes that “Ki is a significant milestone” for the insurance market and that it combines Brit’s heritage of underwriting outperformance and Google Cloud’s technology expertise.

“Over time, Ki will look to play a central role in the transformation of the specialist insurance market in London, creating a whole new and fully digital segment that operates seamlessly alongside the traditional marketplace,” he said. “Recent events have demonstrated the importance of electronic trading and I expect Ki to be at the forefront of the accelerated transition in how the Lloyd’s market transacts business.

“Through building a truly quantitative-based approach to insurance, Ki aims to do what quantitative hedge funds did to capital markets in the 1990s.”

Broker time

Ki offers brokers a line on every risk in the selected classes led by these markets.

It aims to significantly reduce the amount of time and effort taken for brokers to place their follow capacity, creating greater efficiency, responsiveness and competitiveness.

The creation of Ki marks a “step change” for an industry that is yet to face disruption across the rest of financial services and other industries.

Google Cloud will provide Ki enterprise-grade cloud solutions powered by innovative technologies that enable rapid transformation at scale.

Adrian Poole, head of financial services, Google Cloud, said: “We are proud to be the cloud provider for Ki, and to collaborate with Brit to transform the London insurance market. As the first algorithmic syndicate, we see this as an exciting first step by Brit to support the Future at Lloyd’s vision and are delighted to bring our market-leading technologies to support this innovative venture.”

This is because Ki’s algorithm will be able to evaluate Lloyd’s policies and will automatically quote for business through a digital platform which brokers can access directly.