Lloyd's joins forces with brokers in Ipad trial

The trial, set to commence in early September, will see the Ipads used as an alternative to the traditional underwriting slips. At present these huge bundles of paper make up most of the intricate insurance contracts handled at Lloyd’s.

Welcoming the trial, Martin South, CEO of Marsh UK, said: “We are committed to ending the inefficient practices that remain in the London insurance market. We commend Lloyd’s for undertaking this pilot; it has our full support.”

Paul Bridgwater, CEO of RK Harrison Group, said: “We are delighted to engage early in this forward thinking initiative. Lloyd’s is a key market and we are dedicated to utilising new technologies which can enhance the interaction with underwriters.”

Toby Esser, group CEO, Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford, said: "Improving efficiency in order to maintain its leading position within the international insurance arena is an increasingly important challenge for Lloyd’s. Cooper Gay therefore firmly supports this exciting Ipad pilot, as we believe utilising portable technology will be a vital element in driving the future success of Lloyd’s as a competitive place to do business.”

Sue Langley, Lloyd’s director, market operations, said it was a next step in applying technology in the market: “This is a small, simple pilot - literally an Ipad ‘out of the box’. By simply replacing the paper with something easier to carry, but which allows amendments and links to other services, we continue to support the underwriting and face-to-face negotiation that makes Lloyd’s unique.”

The Ipads will effectively be used as an ‘electronic slip case’, enabling brokers to take documents in to the market electronically, review documents with underwriters and annotate them where required. Each broker will decide which business area they will trial the units in.

The trial is expected to last for three months, with more brokers joining the pilot shortly.