London’s Electronic Placements Exceed Targets; Beazley Syndicate 3623 Ranks #1

November 20, 2018 by

The London market’s electronic placing platform, PPL Ltd., exceeded targets during the third quarter as more and more syndicates and companies accepted risks via the platform.

Beazley Syndicate 3623 topped the league table of those Lloyd’s syndicates that have embraced electronic placement via the platform, said the PPL board, which released its first “adoption table” of statistics and rankings.

The board revealed that Lloyd’s syndicates accepted 29.6 percent of in-scope risks via the PPL platform during the third quarter, while London market companies (represented by the International Underwriting Association) accepted an average of 29 percent of in-scope risks. The stated target was to place at least 20 percent of in-scope risks through the platform, said the board, which is tracking data for the London market.

The PPL noted that 71 percent of Lloyd’s syndicates have met or exceeded the target for electronic placement of risks, while 58 percent of IUA members have met or exceeded the target.

PPL is a major part of the London market’s modernization program under the so-called Target Operating Model (TOM). In March, then-Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale decided to mandate PPL’s implementation, which has provided impetus to implementation.

The PPL board listed the top five syndicates that accept risks via the platform:

  • Beazley Syndicate 3623, placing 61.22 percent
  • Aegis Syndicate 1225, placing 59.85 percent
  • Allied World Syndicate 2232, placing 51.19 percent
  • Apollo Syndicate 1969, placing 49.83 percent
  • Blenheim Syndicate 5886 (managed by Asta Managing Agency Ltd.), placing 47.95 percent.

The syndicates at the bottom of the league table were:
  • Newline Syndicate 1218 (managed by Newline Underwriting Management Ltd., a subsidiary of Odyssey Re Holdings Corp.), placing 13.82 percent of risks via PPL
  • AXIS Syndicate 2007 (managed by AXIS Managing Agency Ltd.), placing 12.87 percent of risks
  • China Re’s Syndicate 2088 (managed by Catlin Underwriting Agencies Ltd.), placing 9.09 percent
  • Skuld Syndicate 1897 (managed by Asta), placing 4.26 percent
  • D L Dale & Others Syndicate 2525 (managed by Asta), placing 4.18 percent of risks through the platform.

One hundred percent of syndicates at Lloyd’s reported their statistics, and figures for almost all IUA companies signed up to PPL also have been analyzed, the board noted.

“The fact that the market has, as a whole, significantly exceeded the target set is hard evidence that many in the market are taking the challenge of digitalization very seriously,” said Bronek Masojada, chair of the PPL board.

Most of the focus of the platform is still on the latter stages of the placement process for firm orders, risks bound or endorsements — although quotes and submissions are rising, said Masojada, emphasizing, however, that entering accurate data from the start is critical to PPL’s success.

“If you look at endorsement activity, brokers have saved over 50,000 visits to underwriters that have not been required because of PPL – releasing time for more valued added activities,” Masojada added. “But we want to get it right, right from the start of the value chain – at submission, and there is still a long way to go on those metrics.”

“I am pleased to see that momentum continues to build around PPL adoption and Lloyd’s has again significantly exceeded its quarterly targets,” commented Shirine Khoury-Haq, Lloyd’s chief operating officer.

“The impressive adoption of electronic placement just goes to show that market participants are committed to transforming the way the London market operates,” Khoury-Haq added. “These actions, which target not only efficiency improvements but also help to further enhance our customer value proposition, are critical to ensure that London remains the global hub for re/insurance.”

Louise Day, director of operations at the IUA, said: “The number of risks accepted via PPL continues to grow across the company market with several firms doubling their trade on the platform since the previous quarter. IUA members comprise many different business models and processing arrangements, yet support for PPL is widespread with adoption rates matching those achieved by Lloyd’s managing agents.”

“It is very good news that the underwriting market is well ahead of its targets for this quarter in terms of placing risks electronically,” affirmed Christopher Croft, CEO of London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA).

“The broker response has been equally strong, and the number of brokers has increased by 25 percent in the last three months with nearly 60 broking houses now signed up, representing 90 percent of the market’s capacity,” he added.

“We have also seen activity from a much wider spread of brokers. The proportion of business being undertaken by the top four broking houses has decreased significantly from 83 percent to 63 percent – a clear indication that we have created a tool that is gaining traction much more widely across all sections of the market,” Croft went on to say.

“We expect sign up and usage to continue to grow, but most importantly that brokers are using it at all stages of the value chain,” he said. “Nearly half of them are now using the quote function right at the start of the process, and the speed of endorsements has been revolutionized – taking minutes now rather than hours.”

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