Two industry heavyweights, Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Peter Levene and Brian Duperreault, President & CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, got together at the annual Lloyd’s New York City Dinner at the St Regis Hotel.
Speaking to more than one hundred senior executives from the US insurance, financial services, legal and media industries, the two men gave a cogent synopsis of the current state of the industry, as described on the Lloyd’s web site.
Duperreault commented: “Lloyd’s was created in a London coffee house in 1688,” adding that “it was in 1689 that industry observers first started asking “So…when do you think we’ll see an improvement in pricing?”
As the current CEO of MMC and the former head of ACE, Duperrault has quite a bit of experience in dealing with the cycle. He analyzed its evolution and described how “market psyche” can influence pricing.
On an upbeat note he indicated that the cycle might harden in 2011, but, he continued, that wasn’t the central issue. More important was the ability of the market to write at prices that are sustainable over the long term – what he labeled “smart” underwriting.
Lord Levene also focused on the insurance industry in his speech. He noted his recent visits to New Zealand and Australia, as well as the 10th anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center in September 2001. He explained that the international reinsurance industry represents the benign side of international capital flows. Insurance, he claimed, absorbs risk, it doesn’t spread it.
The dinner is the last that Lord Levene will attend as Lloyd’s Chairman. He is stepping down in October, having served in the post for almost 10 years, the longest tenure in Lloyd’s 323 year history.
He took the occasion to pay tribute to the work of Lloyd’s current CEO Richard Ward and Nick Prettejohn (Lloyd’s CEO from 1999 to 2005) – and that of their teams, as well as all the market participants.
“In the time that I have had the privilege to serve as Chairman of Lloyd’s, it has been a real pleasure to see firsthand the positive contribution which insurance makes to global stability,” he stated.
Duperreault also spoke positively about Lloyd’s performance in recent years, especially the “rigor and discipline imposed by their Franchise model”. He also lauded both Lloyd’s and Lord Levene, whom he described as providing “stewardship to one of the world’s most enduring institutions during a period of extraordinary change, and during one of the most difficult financial periods in modern history. “Lloyd’s is in a far better position today than it was in 2002, and I congratulate Lord Levene and the Lloyd’s management team on their accomplishments,” he added.
Source: Lloyd’s of London
Topics Excess Surplus Market Lloyd's
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