Lloyd’s managing agencies are favouring the use of the Corporation’s Brussels subsidiary over the creation of their own EU subsidiary, a survey commissioned by the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) has revealed.
The findings come as part of a poll of Lloyd’s market chief operating officers (COOs) to gauge their key priorities for 2018, with 39 of Lloyd’s 55 managing agencies taking part.
The research, which the LMA said provides a comprehensive picture of the concerns, opinions, and priorities of the market’s most senior operations personnel, showed that Brexit is seen as an internal and market-level priority issue for 2018 by a majority of COOs, with 53 percent of preferring the use of the Lloyd’s Brussels hub over the creation of their own EU subsidiary.
Market modernisation was also another key priority for COOs, most significantly the delegated authority transformation initiative, with 93 percent of those surveyed believing that straight-through processing is a viable option for delegated authority relationships.
Furthermore, all respondents said that they are planning underwriting systems upgrades in 2018. Almost 77 percent plan to upgrade coverholder reporting systems and processes.
Tom Payne, market operations director at the LMA said: “It is widely understood that the Lloyd’s market faces an increasingly challenging environment, with COOs having a key role to play in this changing landscape.
“The LMA Operations Committee (LMAOC) is uniquely placed to represent the operational community in areas where working collectively can drive clarity and value.”
Chair of the LMAOC and head of international operations at Navigators, Sheila Cameron added: “The LMAOC felt that the voice of the COO needed to be more clearly articulated in the context of market modernisation, operational improvement and expense management. This survey, the first of its kind to be commissioned, will help to achieve this.
“For the first time, the views of Lloyd’s market COOs have been brought together, assessed and collated with the intention of articulating the business and operational challenges faced by managing agents.”