My first column of 2025 and there are all sorts of exciting LIIBA things to update you on.
There is our plan to develop a piece of research that highlights the value of specialty insurance broking and how moving domestic risk into international markets boosts global GDP. There is our ongoing work with Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help it develop new approaches that will meet its international competitiveness objective. There are the many ways in which 2025 will see us expand our work with social mobility charities to encourage people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the market (and our new alumni groups to continue to support those who have joined as the result of our initiatives). All outstanding stuff of which we are very proud.
But, let us face it, there is really only one topic of conversation that is dominating market discussion at the moment: who is going to replace John Neal at Lloyd’s and what will that mean? And since this is also a pretty important topic for us in the broking community, I thought we would pick up on that zeitgeist and have a look at what we might want to see happen.
First, a few words of appreciation for John. He has been a friend of the LIIBA membership during his tenure in office. He has always appreciated, and I quote, that he “runs a distribution platform and you are my distribution”. He has always been happy to meet with members large and small and always keen to seek their feedback. And, through Blueprint Two, he has taken market modernisation further than we have ever achieved before to the point at which, with the renewed commitment to deliver that we will provide, we are poised to finally crack that seemingly endless conundrum. So we wish him well as he transitions to become one of our own.
But what do we want now? I think there is a golden trinity of criteria. First, the executive team at Lloyd’s needs the right balance. Sir Charles Roxburgh has a solid background in our industry through his work at the time of reconstruction and renewal. His years at the Treasury bring a plethora of connections that will aid our ability to talk to governments around the world. But he is not a true EC3 insider which is something that is needed on the 12th floor at One Lime Street to help navigate the sometimes labyrinthine complexities of the market. So, we hope to see a face we recognise when the big reveal takes place.
Hopefully that will also help deliver our second criterion – that the last thing we need is for the new Lloyd’s CEO to decide that we need some sort of “drains up” review of Blueprint Two and to then spend millions on consultants who will conclude that we should be doing what we already are, by which time we will need to start again. As I intimated above, perseverance with BP2 will get us to the modernisation holy grail. And, at the risk of repeating myself in this column ad nauseum, that will fix the current 25% error rate on market payments, so is indisputably worth doing. We are dedicated to seeing it through to delivery: the new person at the Corporation just has to show the same degree of commitment.
Third, as John did, remember who your friends are and what you are good at. Our members are fiercely proud of being Lloyd’s brokers. The success of the London market is our success and Lloyd’s will always be at the centre of that. We are experts in developing international distribution chains that identify profitable business; and in presenting that business in an appealing way to underwriters. Lloyd’s excels at being a globally attractive brand and providing a uniquely comprehensive licensing framework that allows for the multinational coverage our clients need. Together this serendipitous synchronicity of expertise can achieve great things. So let us do our thing and you do yours. And we can meet in the middle and deliver outstanding results for our mutual customers.
So, the message to the Council of Lloyd’s from the broking world is simple. Meet these three requirements and the perfect candidate will be before you. One that can build on the Nealistic era and take Lloyd’s into a yet more successful age. It will not be one without its challenges given the general chaos at large in the world. But, as I have said here before, a world of heightened risk must be an opportunity for the purveyors of risk management services. And, together, a high-powered broking network and Lloyd’s charged with enlightened leadership can seize that opportunity and emerge triumphant.
