Promoting Lloyd's service companies and coverholders in the Midlands

When I was based in Sydney, one of our Australian coverholders (who bizarrely was a fanatical Birmingham City supporter) regularly took great delight in contacting me to discuss the fortunes of our respective football clubs. He particularly relished these chats when Birmingham celebrated a victory and my team, West Ham, had endured yet another disappointing result.

I, of course, reciprocated at every opportunity whenever the Hammers enjoyed a rare win at the expense of the Blues. Today, with Birmingham third from bottom and West Ham propping up the entire Premier League, suffice it to say that the correspondence between me and the coverholder has dried up … at least for the time being!

Travelling up to Birmingham a few weeks ago (and casting my football prejudices aside) I contemplated whether Lloyd's is indeed at the top of the Champions League of insurance carriers in the Midlands or languishing at the bottom? Is the Lloyd's platform the team of choice amongst regional brokers in Birmingham and other towns and cities in the Midlands?

After meeting with a number of Birmingham-based prospective coverholders and existing service companies it seems to me that these alternative and complementary models help to place our underwriters in a strong strategic position to do more business not only in the Midlands but throughout the UK. Service companies and coverholders co-exist side by side and by providing different access routes into Lloyd's, offer the regional broker - and ultimately the customer - more product choice than that offered by the local companies market. 

With tailor-made products on offer, service companies and coverholders provide Lloyd's with a great opportunity to write more SME business and move out of the Champions League and into the Premier League where Lloyd's can become first choice for local markets outside London.

The Ricoh Arena (apart from being home to another currently unsuccessful Midlands football team) recently hosted the Insurance Age Broker Expo. Now running for six years, the 2010 event saw a record number of exhibitors and delegates.

My colleague Alan Taylor, Manager, Broker Relationship Management, attended and mingled with a wide range of exhibitors and delegates. In all there were eight underwriting exhibitors promoting their Lloyd’s facilities and a number of Lloyd’s Registered Brokers were also present.

A new innovation for the 2010 Expo were broker clinics. Four ran throughout the day on a one-to-one basis and appointments had been pre-booked (and were heavily subscribed). This was also true of the workshops – fully booked, running morning and afternoon and covering a wide range of topics from brand to selling.

It is important that Lloyd's underwriters and brokers are visible at these regional events and such a presence would assist in convincing regional brokers that we're serious about providing solutions for their clients' insurance needs.

Lloyd's is a renowned academy of talent in the insurance world and local coverholders and service companies help our underwriters to show off their skills. However, it is important for underwriters to attend insurance fixtures outside of London and play a few away-matches during the (renewals) season.

Comments

No comments