Brokers ‘must invest to flourish in Europe’

Our Chief Executive Officer, John Shepherd was interviewed by Insurance Day about the future for the insurance industry following Brexit. He discussed how we must be willing to innovate and respond quickly to challenges. You can read the full article here

No deal for insurance yet
The UK insurance market is the largest in Europe – worth over €340 Billion in 2018 – but is not covered by the Brexit deal. There is no longer any passporting arrangement and no deal for financial services is in the pipeline.

Unlike businesses trading in goods, it has been pretty clear that that there would be no deal for the insurance market for a number of years. We have been preparing for this scenario since the referendum in 2016.

How we are embracing the opportunity
 

 
Europe has always been an important part of our business. It was more a case of stepping this up which is why we set up our Netherlands Company. It has allowed us to continue trading compliantly with our EEA clients. We already have business in the Netherlands, Belgium and across the EEA and we are completing deals in Sweden, Ireland, Spain and Italy with plans to expand our office staff and increase local knowledge.

For us, the opportunities are broad as we have the expertise to target both the niche and more standard risks across the continent. Where business is written on European paper, our European Company handles this or if it is out of London, then our UK Company steps in. This flexibility will be important to meet the needs of our clients.

The changing insurance landscape
We have seen insurers move London operations to develop local networks across Europe. From a cost and logistics perspective this is understandable. There is inevitably a knock-on effect for Lloyd’s potentially losing out even with its new Brussels company. As a result, Lloyd’s will need to be nimble, light on its feet and reinvent its marketplace differentiator status.

Adapt quickly and put the client first
For brokers or coverholders who want to embrace this brave new world they need to be prepared to invest. Invest the time to trade compliantly, develop their capabilities and work in new ways. This includes establishing how to work with local markets and Lloyd’s.

Ultimately, for any firm to succeed everything comes back to putting the client first. This requires developing the expertise and understanding to embrace everything from the language and cultural differences to the ways we trade. Above all we need the appetite to be agile and to evolve quickly to changing demands.
 

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