With just over a month before the referendum, Lloyd’s of London chairman John Nelson continues to warn against the UK’s possible departure from the European Union.
In an interview with the Agence France-Presse, Nelson said Lloyd’s of London is looking “very hard” at contingency plans as it prepares for the potential impact of a Brexit.
Nelson said the insurance market would survive the Brexit implications but its operations will be changed.
"I still think London would remain a very important financial centre but it would be harder for us to operate," Nelson told AFP.
"We think we have got the right tools in the box to allow us to continue to operate," he said.
"But the model under which we would do it would not be as efficient as the one we have today."
Like Nelson, other business leaders have sounded the alarm on UK’s withdrawal from the EU, clamouring for a “Remain” vote in the membership referendum on June 23.
Nelson said a vote to stay inside the EU will give the Britain and the 28-member economic bloc “a real fillip,” the AFP reported.
In a statement in February, Nelson said Britain’s membership of the EU boosts Lloyd’s attraction to direct investment and provides “passporting” trading rights with the other 27 member countries.
Lloyd’s also benefits from the many trade agreements that the EU has in place with other countries and may negotiate in the future,” Nelson added.
“Membership of the EU will be a crucial element in London being able to retain and reinforce its pre-eminent status as the global hub for insurance and re-insurance,” he said.
More than two thirds of insurers, brokers, and service providers in London’s £60 billion international insurance market say leaving the EU would be bad for business, according to a recent research commissioned by financial public relations consultancy Haggie Partners.
The research found that 68.7% of market practitioners believe Brexit would “hurt” or “severely damage.” Lloyd’s of London. Only 25.1% believe it will have no impact, while 6.2% say Brexit would benefit Lloyd’s.
“Lloyd’s centrally has clearly stated its preference for Britain to stay within the European Union, and this research shows that, from a business perspective at least, the vast majority of companies in the London market agree,” said Adrian Leonard, who made the survey for Haggie Partners.
