Lloyd’s of London responds to young brokers’ underwriting room concerns

Lloyd’s of London has responded to new research which highlighted young brokers’ concerns over the willingness of underwriters to trade from the market’s underwriting room.

In a report last week (13 June 2023), the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Associations’ (Liiba) revealed that underwriters’ attendance had become a “point of contention”, claiming they reduced their time at the box to only Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

Insurer’s attendance rotas, which tend to be circulated to brokers on Sundays, were also often left unfulfilled, according to Liiba’s findings.

In response, a spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London told Insurance Times: ”We are working in collaboration with the Lloyd’s market to ensure that the underwriting room provides the vibrancy and benefits that we know are so important to brokers and managing agents.”

‘Remains integral’

The research also found that out of more than 50 brokers across four workshops, some 97% said they wanted their working life to comprise of at least 50% face-to-face trading with underwriters.

In terms of trading-type allocation, brokers felt half of London market business was suitable for face-to-face interaction.

Liiba board member Jason Collins said: ”The message from young brokers is a stark one.

“They want to trade face-to-face, they want to build the relationships that would underpin that and they want to do this in a room restored to its position as a true trading floor where decisions are made.”

Lloyd’s of London told Insurance Times that face-to-face relationship-based trading “remains integral to the London market”.