The industry’s largest market will finally begin writing electronic business next year.
Lloyd’s of London, the largest insurance market in the world, has finally announced that it will be taking its first steps into writing online. It will write its first business electronically beginning in 2020.
The first online-only policy writing will begin operations as of January 1, 2020.
The largest reinsurer in the world, Munich Re, will start writing policies by way of an online-only syndicate at the beginning of next year. This, according to statements issued by both Munich Re and Lloyd’s of London.
The business at Lloyd’s will still be done primarily the old fashioned way, on paper. This isn’t too surprising as the marketplace is well over 300 years old and is notoriously traditional. The new syndicate will not be designated any office space on the Lime Street headquarters of the Lloyd’s market.
The new Lloyd’s of London online insurance company is begin nicknamed a “syndicate in a box”.
The online insurer has been called a “syndicate in a box”. Of the six proposals made to overhaul the insurance market made by John Neal, Lloyd’s Chief Executive Officer, the new online writing is the most striking. Neal unveiled his proposals last Monday at an event.
Neal has been CEO for nearly a year and intends to slash the cost of insuring risks in half for the largest market on the planet. He intends to use his overhaul to achieve his goal within the span of the next five years.
“There was a sense that Lloyd’s had lost its mantle as the innovator for insurance,” said Neal in a phone interview, as quoted by Bloomberg. “We wanted to recapture it” and “take the cost of doing business at Lloyd’s down significantly.”
The new Munich Re syndicate will be focused on writing insurance for emerging risks as well as for weather events. This, according to a statement released by the company. There has yet to be any mention 
of future additions to the online offerings at Lloyd’s of London. That said, it is expected that the market can only start offering more online business writing as that is the firm direction the industry is taking.
