Company market looks to assess ability to deliver Blueprint Two

The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has created a new committee to examine whether a vital step in the London market’s plans for digitalisation will be achievable.

According to the member organisation, the new committee – called the Cut-over Review Committee – plans “to review progress on the adoption of new digital services”.

This announcement has added fuel to industry fire that the ambitious plans for digital market reform featured in Lloyd’s Blueprint Two initiative are running into difficulty.

The IUA explained that under the Blueprint Two programme, originally launched by Lloyd’s back in November 2020, a single digital platform is being developed for processing premiums and claims. A target date of October 2024 has been set for insurers to cut over to phase one of these new services.

However, this timeline was not the original plan outlined by Lloyd’s.

The date for the cut over to phase one of the Blueprint Two scheme was initially set for the end of this month (June 2024), but this deadline was extended amid concerns from market participants that the system was not ready to make the move seamlessly.

Phase one of Blueprint Two is focused on building the capabilities required to process premiums digitally, as well as deliver faster claim payments. Phase two, meanwhile, will see the launch of a Core Data Record (CDR) and introduce increased automation.

Phase one was expected to be quickly followed by phase two, but member body the Lloyd’s Market Association asked for the date of phase two’s implementation to be pushed back further into 2024 as it sought to ensure that market members were not having to focus on both phases in a short period of time.

Committee focus

The IUA said its Cut-over Review Committee will “review information about the readiness of the London company market, and its technology partner Velonetic, to make this switch” to new digital services.

“[The committee] will advise the IUA board so that it can be assured there is no reason to recommend not cutting over to the new services,” the IUA continued.

Chaired by Convex Insurance UK chief executive and IUA deputy chair Theo Butt, the committee is comprised of senior practitioners with expertise in information technology and security, digital transformation and business processing.

IUA chief operating officer Louise Day said: “The transition to a digital marketplace in the world’s largest insurance hub is a vast and complex undertaking. There are huge potential benefits with placements, claims and settlement set to operate faster and cheaper.

“It is essential that the process runs as smoothly as possible and so our new group will allow IUA members to closely monitor testing, training and other preparations as the changeover approaches.

“We will be conducting an expert review of readiness documents to ensure senior executives on the IUA board are fully informed of progress across the company market.”

Growing frustration

Market participants who spoke to Insurance Times upon hearing this news said there was growing frustration over the progress of Blueprint Two and concerns over when the system would be operational.

They told Insurance Times that phase one of the system still had to be fully tested and proven to work before the switch. Failure to do so could leave premium and claims payments delayed.

The IUA said the Cut-over Review Committee will meet at least monthly until the switch to new digital processing services has been achieved.

An introductory meeting was held last week and the first official meeting is scheduled for July.