Placing Support

Since its formation, the London insurance market has been reliant on manual processes and hard-copy documentation for the transaction of business between broker and underwriter. The associated inefficiency; the high cost of handling paper, the lack of control, the lack of immediate availability of records and the delays in serial distribution of paper - with the associated negative impact on customer service and competitiveness - have led market organisations to implement electronic processes to support the placement and amendment of insurance business.

Put simply, electronic support for placing is the electronic exchange of data and documents between trading partners to support the transaction of insurance business, whether a new risk, a renewal or a mid-term amendment.

Electronic support for placing does not replace the face-to-face negotiation of business which is a key strength of the London insurance market and an important aspect of the transaction of the large, complex and specialist risks for which London is renowned. However, electronic support for placing opens up opportunities to improve customer service and increase the efficiency of the placing process by using face-to-face negotiation more selectively - where it really adds value - and by transferring data and documents electronically rather than solely in paper form.

Reporting

As part of this project, the market has implemented the use of electronic processes to support endorsements across all classes. The LMA receives reports from The Exchange showing message volumes as well as response times at a market level. Reports are available to Full Member firms only via the links below (which will be updated monthly - about mid month - as new reports become available).  Please log on first to access these reports. A matching set of reports is provided by the IUA and LIIBA to their members.

  • Market Summary Report 
  • Consolidated Volumes Report (message volume data for LMA, IUA and LIIBA member firms)
  • Consolidated Response Times Report (response time data for LMA and IUA member firms)

More information is available from Peter Holdstock (LMA) or from the LMG website .