It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the ninth edition of LMF Points of View.

As I meet and speak with people from across the Lloyd’s and London insurance market, one thing is very clear: we are living through a period of considerable change. That is nothing new for our Market, of course, but the pace and breadth of change today feel particularly significant.

At the same time, the structure of the Market continues to develop. The MGA sector is growing, merger and acquisition activity remains a prominent feature of the landscape, and firms are examining how they can operate more effectively while continuing to meet the changing needs of clients around the world.

With so much happening, it can sometimes be difficult to separate the genuinely transformational developments from the daily noise surrounding them. For me, that makes continuous learning more important than ever.

Whatever our role, level of experience or area of expertise, none of us has all the answers. We need to remain curious, listen to different perspectives and make time to understand how these changes could affect our firms, our colleagues, our clients and our own careers.

That is very much the spirit behind LMF Points of View.

In this latest edition, our contributors explore several of the issues currently shaping the Market. Delegated Authority is a particularly strong theme, reflecting the growing importance of MGAs, coverholders and third-party administrators to the London Market’s global reach.

These are important questions. It is not enough for individual firms to modernise their internal systems if information still arrives slowly, inconsistently or in formats requiring considerable manual intervention. To achieve the full benefits of automation, we need to think about how the entire insurance value chain connects and how trusted data can flow more effectively between the different participants.

Another article examines exposure management in a world of climate volatility, geopolitical uncertainty and increasingly interconnected risk. It highlights the growing need for exposure insight to be available when underwriting decisions are being made, not weeks or months later.

As AI becomes more deeply embedded within business operations, questions surrounding cost, control, security and ownership will become increasingly important. One of the articles featured provides a useful challenge to some of the assumptions being made during the current enthusiasm for rapid adoption.

Taken together, the six articles offer an interesting and balanced picture. They recognise the tremendous potential of technology, data and AI, while reminding us that successful change is rarely about technology alone. It also depends upon people, judgement, collaboration and a clear understanding of the problem we are trying to solve. This is one of the reasons I remain so passionate about creating opportunities for the Market to come together and learn from one another. Thanks to our wonderful Corporate Members who've provide some though provoking content for this edition.

Our wider calendar has also included The Future of Capital at Lloyd’s, delivered in partnership with Aon. This brought together senior professionals to consider how the capital landscape is evolving and what those developments could mean for the future of the Market.

I would also like to offer my warmest congratulations to all our newly appointed LMF Market Ambassadors. Their appointments recognise their contribution to our community and their commitment to helping us encourage greater participation, knowledge-sharing and connection across the Market. I am delighted to welcome them to this important role.

My sincere thanks go to all the subject-matter experts who have contributed to this edition. Producing thoughtful content takes time, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has shared their knowledge and experience with the wider LMF community.

I encourage you to explore each of the five articles and consider the different points of view being offered. You may agree with everything you read, or you may see some of the issues differently—and that is exactly what a publication such as this should encourage. Good discussion often begins with a different perspective.

Finally, thank you to all our Practitioner Members and Corporate Members for your continued involvement and support. LMF has always been about bringing people together to learn, network and collaborate, and it is your participation that makes this possible.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition and find plenty within it to inform, challenge and inspire you. If you're not part of the LMF community, join us today and put yourself and your firm at the heart of the insurance discussion.

Yours sincerely,

Roger Oldham

FCII, BA(Hons), MCIArb, FIoL
Chartered Insurance Practitioner
Founder & CEO, LMF

Roger A. Oldham - Founder & Managing Director at The London Market Forums.

Roger has over 30 years of frontline experience in the London and international insurance markets at executive level. He is an experienced and qualified Mediator, having trained with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London. He specialises in insurance disputes on a global basis but is experienced in handling all forms of commercial disputes.

Roger is also known for founding and running the successful and popular Market networking and educational group, London Market Forums. The group brings thousands of professionals together every year. LMForums is free to access for all insurance professionals and is supported by a select number of quality industry suppliers and advisors. Roger also created the Market People Magazine and is the executive producer behind the popular Market People Awards.

He is also a leader in operational excellence and business transformation, as well as a qualified coach, mentor and experienced trainer. He has been responsible for driving change in the industry all over the world. He is a regular speaker at industry related conferences about industry change, modernisation and operational improvement and runs two popular professional members' clubs.

During his career, Roger has been responsible for functions and teams at firms such as Aon, HSBC and Marsh. He has led claims teams, multi-region operations and change projects in the Middle East, Far East and North America.

He became one of Aon's leading claims troubleshooters, working with the Chairman's Office, travelling all over the world resolving disputes.