Brokers key in ‘shaping London market’s destiny’ for 2023

Brokers will be key in shaping the London market’s trading environment for insurance, according to the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association’s (Liiba) agenda for this year.

In the broker body’s agenda, published yesterday (19 January 2022), Liiba said that brokers’ participation in the Future at Lloyd’s programme – Lloyd’s of London’s digital transformation project – could see brokers take a prime position in the market.

The body also mentioned brokers’ key role in delivering the new version of placing platform limited (PPL) and driving people back into Lloyd’s underwriting room.

Christopher Croft, Liiba’s chief executive said: “Having spent much of our energies in the last two years reacting to external change, we believe 2023 will see the London insurance market focusing on shaping its own destiny.

”We’re about to go through a period of considerable change in terms of our trading environment.

“The new version of PPL and Future at Lloyd’s are tangible manifestations of the market’s drive to evolve.”

Change is also high on Liiba’s new agenda – it said its members would focus on supporting the roll-out of the new PPL, which is due this February.

What London does best

Liiba members are keen to see the full restoration of face-to-face trading in Lloyd’s underwriting room, which closed temporarily during the pandemic. 

The broker body’s plan is to work with the Lloyd’s Market Association and Lloyd’s to agree a common purpose and strategy for face-to-face trading that recognises and builds on broker Tyser’s recent initiative to support trading in the room.

Croft added: “The recent renewals season has been challenging, but brokers and underwriters – working together – have found solutions to their clients’ needs. That is what London does best.

“The ability to go window shopping for insurance is at the heart of London’s ability to deliver client outcomes that no other centre can match. It also provides a vital access to underwriters for the SME businesses that make up the heartland of Liiba membership. So, we want to see it continue to thrive.

“As a market, we’re sometimes guilty of overlooking our success. While the global economy at large teeters on the brink of recession, our market has continued to grow, continued to provide jobs and continued to contribute significantly to UK gross domestic product.”

Croft noted that – in some ways – 2022 was the year many members had hoped 2021 would be with the return to normality and EC3.

“However, the war in Ukraine brought fresh challenges to our market, that I’m proud to say we rose to,” he added.