Placing Platform Limited (PPL) just announced a multi-year agreement that will embed Microsoft's data and AI capabilities and productivity tools into the flow of work on PPL's specialty insurance trading platform.
The collaboration will look to transform how brokers and carriers use and interact with the platform as they trade and bind risks. The move will also speed up PPL's transition from a document-led, administrative placing process to an intuitive trading platform and intelligent data hub.
A family of PPL productivity tools based on Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Microsoft Power BI will accelerate data-driven trading. In doing so, brokers and carriers could be increasingly responsive, creating time and space for the high-touch, high-value relationships that the London market is renowned for.
Using a PPL market directory curated on Microsoft Teams and managed across Microsoft 365, collaboration becomes easier. Contact and response times are projected to be faster by simplifying the capture of trading activity that takes place outside the platform.
With customized PPL Copilot prompts, actionable broker and carrier insight is delivered, allowing for comparison, analysis, and insight in real-time to inform next actions. End-to-end trading data will be housed in an intelligent Microsoft Fabric-powered data hub that makes structured, secure, and rich data available to PPL clients to inform and support business decisions.
John Mason, CEO of PPL, underscored the value of the collaboration to the industry. "I am hugely excited about the opportunities that this relationship brings for the London market," he said. "This is a transformational deal, and one that relies not on costly untested development processes, but the use of existing well-tested tools that almost everyone already knows how to use."
"In collaboration with Microsoft, PPL has the ability to create a step-change in how our clients interact with each other across the end-to-end trading cycle. We have engaged some of our key clients early in this process, allowing PPL to test our theories and focus on how we can empower and strengthen digital connectivity between market participants. We've been delighted with their feedback and are now focused on detailed design and delivery."
However, Mason notes that this does not take out the focus on the core mission of delivering a high-functioning front-to-back placing platform. PPL guarantees to prioritise the core engine where clients can expect to see further enhancements to the platform throughout the next 12 months.
Bill Borden, corporate vice president, Worldwide Financial Services, Microsoft, also sees the relationship with PPL as a prime example of how to use the latest cloud technologies from Microsoft to innovate and deliver compelling business outcomes. "This latest initiative between PPL and Microsoft is rooted in our shared vision of empowering the insurance industry with innovative tools that boost efficiency and unlock new avenues for growth," he shared. "Through a simplified collaboration platform and dynamic, data-driven trading environment, we aim to streamline processes and provide real-time insights that enhance decision-making across the market."
Meanwhile, Lloyd’s CEO John Neal echoed the same sentiments, noting that the transition to a data-first digital trading environment will drive London Market growth and innovation through the inked partnership.
What's your take on this Microsoft-PPL partnership? Will it truly transform the London insurance market? Share your insights in the comments below.
