AM Best


Best’s Market Segment Report: COVID-19 Throws Spotlight on London Market Modernisation


CONTACTS:

Catherine Thomas
Senior Director, Analytics
+44 20 7397 0281
catherine.thomas@ambest.com

Richard Banks
Director, Industry Research – EMEA
+44 20 7397 0322
richard.banks@ambest.com

Edem Kuenyehia
Director, Market Development & Communications
+44 20 7397 0280
edem.kuenyehia@ambest.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LONDON - JUNE 02, 2020 07:54 AM (EDT)
While many London Market participants began 2020 generally optimistic on the back of signs of pricing improvement, the COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow over performance expectations for the rest of the year. It has also thrown a spotlight on the market’s modernisation efforts and might even accelerate some long-awaited changes to the way business is transacted.

AM Best’s new report, “COVID-19 Throws Spotlight on London Market Modernisation”, considers the expense and distribution pressures that are forcing London Market insurers to adapt their operating models in order to remain relevant in a competitive marketplace. Radical action has been evident at the individual company or managing agent level, as well as at Lloyd’s.

Catherine Thomas, senior director, analytics, AM Best, said, “The London Market deals with complex and bespoke business with transactions often negotiated on a face-to-face basis. However, the current situation is forcing individuals and companies to be more thoughtful about the circumstances where in-person interaction might not enhance value, and could be done much more efficiently electronically.”

The report adds that the pandemic has thrown into sharp focus the market’s modernisation efforts and has demonstrated that the progress made by individual insurers on this journey could be a real differentiator.

“It is clear that some in the market have been much more able to make a seamless transition to the new way of working,” Thomas said. “Remote working is forcing a long-needed culture change in the acceptance of digital solutions.”

To access a complimentary copy of this Best’s Market Segment Report, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=297709 .

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City.