Lloyd’s and the rest of the world

The £1.4bn profit posted by the Lloyd’s market in 2004 was the third in a row. The market achieved a combined ratio of 96.9% in a context (as it was back then) of the most costly hurricane season ever. According to Lord Levene , the chairman of Lloyd’s, this demonstrated the effectiveness of the new franchise performance structure and the extent to which it is underpinning the new financial stability which the market is currently enjoying. A month ago Lloyd’s was given the green light by the Chinese government to set up an onshore reinsurance operation in China. However, in a recent speech to the Insurance Institute of London, Lord Levene warned that the Lloyd’s market needs continually to build and improve its licence and trading opportunities if it wants to remain a world-class insurance platform. To deliver that, Lord Levene believes, a clear strategic approach is called for. This is an edited extract of Lord Levene’s address to the Insurance Institute of London.