Combine a string of costly natural catastrophes and manmade accidents, a one-of-a-kind operational structure, litigation from thousands of disgruntled investors and investigations from U.S. securities regulators and the attorneys-general of several states, and you get serious trouble. Though rumors of the demise of Lloyd’s of London were exaggerated, the 300-year-old market came awfully close.
Aside from a number of large claims and the prospect of paying billions in settlements, the market was hemorrhaging investment capital (and, hence, capacity) as unlimited liability investors left in droves. Not all that long ago, the capital supporting risks underwritten at Lloyd’s was provided solely by individual members known as “Names”, many of whom mortgaged their homes or put up other personal assets in order to invest. During the 1980s, the number of Names investing in Lloyd’s exceeded 30,000. By the early 1990s this number had dropped by more than a third. Similarly, the number of syndicates that made up the Lloyd’s market went from a peak of 401 in 1990 to 139 in 1999 (Lloyd’s members are grouped into syndicates represented by a professional underwriter who accepts risks on behalf of the entity). The drop in total syndicates was primarily a result of mergers and retirement from business.
Restructuring — no small task
As these problems came to light and their impact began to be felt by the organization, a task force commissioned by the Council of Lloyd’s in 1991 was charged with the responsibility of considering the market’s capital base with a view to the future. The report — published in February 1992 — recommended several fundamental reforms which were used as the basis of a business plan published in 1993. The most fundamental proposal was for the admission to the market of limited liability capital in the form of corporate members. The submission was approved in October 1993. This would mark a major departure from the way capital had been infused into Lloyd’s since its beginnings in the 17th century.
The admission to Lloyd’s of corporate capital began on January 1, 1994. However, according to strict guidelines, these entities had to limit their capacity to 20% in any one syndicate. At this time, 25 corporate investors were admitted to membership (12 of which were listed investment companies created solely for the purpose of investing in Lloyd’s). They accounted for 15% of Lloyd’s total capacity that year.
Four key “liberalizations” that became effective on June 30, 1995 further encouraged infusion of corporate capital into Lloyd’s, and probably changed the structure of the venerable London market icon forever:
Integration of corporate members and managing agencies was permitted;
Conversion from traditional to corporate syndicates was encouraged;
Limitations on the capacity to come from corporate capital were lifted; and,
Insurance companies were free to acquire an interest in a managing agency.
As a result of these changes, the early guideline dictating that corporate entities had to be dedicated solely to Lloyd’s (with no other activities other than incidental ones) was abolished. Additionally, the 20% capacity limitation per syndicate was extended to 100%. Also, when corporate investors were first permitted at Lloyd’s, they could own just 25% of a managing agency (managing agencies are entities which are responsible for all aspects of running Lloyd’s syndicates). This, too, was bumped up to 100%.
These reforms began to attract desperately needed corporate capital into Lloyd’s. In 1994, corporate members contributed $3.9 billion in capacity (1999 dollars) to the market. However by 1999, the number of corporate members had grown to 668 with capacity totaling almost $17.8 billion (Lloyd’s total capacity this year is close to $23 billion). Contributions from professional insurance and reinsurance companies account for 32% of Lloyd’s 1999 corporate capital.
Big names, big money
Since the time of these reforms, many reinsurers have either snapped up Lloyd’s managing agencies, acquired existing syndicates or formed new syndicates.
One of the most recent deals came June 15 when Swiss Re announced plans to form a new syndicate at Lloyd’s along with Chartwell Re. This is the first time that Swiss Re is a major investor in a Lloyd’s syndicate. The new syndicate will be a mono-line carrier focusing on hull marine insurance. It intends to launch the operation in the fall of this year with a view to attaching risks from the beginning of 2000. Chartwell Re, through its subsidiary Chartwell Holdings Ltd., has participated in Lloyd’s since late November of 1996 when it acquired Archer Group Holdings Plc. (renamed Chartwell UK Plc). The unit is the parent holding company of Archer Managing Agents Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Managing Agents Ltd.) and Archer Underwriting Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Underwriting).
The day after the Swiss Re/Chart-well deal was announced, Gerling said that it would enter Lloyd’s through the purchase of managing agency Owen & Wilby for $4.7 million. Gerling said it was not as much interested in Owen & Wilby’s existing services as much as its licenses to operate. Gerling said the acquisition would allow it to deal directly with clients, even in small markets, without the need for local partners.
In March of this year Munich Re announced that it purchased Northern Marine Underwriters for about $4.7 million. Northern Marine, which writes British cargo business from offices in Leeds, Manchester, has traditionally operated under a binding authority issued by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s. A binding authority allows an intermediary to accept specific kinds of insurance risk on behalf of an underwriter or group of underwriters at Lloyd’s.
NAC Re Corp. announced in January of 1998 that it would purchase all the assets of Morgan, Fentiman & Barber, managers of Lloyd’s non-marine syndicate 990, commonly known as Denham. Denham, formed in 1928, is an underwriter of specialized covers concentrating on long-tail casualty lines and non-marine physical damage, including both direct and reinsurance business. Denham’s underwriting vehicle, Stonebridge Underwriting Ltd., operates as a subsidiary of NAC Re International Holdings Ltd. NAC’s capacity in Denham for the 1999 underwriting year is over $68 million, which it estimates will generate 1999 premiums of approximately $60 million.
In the summer of 1998, Underwriters Reinsurance Co. announced the acquisition of Venton Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, for about $290 million. Venton, which has operations in London and Bermuda, was purchased from owners which included a subsidiary of the Trident Partnership, XL Insurance Company Ltd., Risk Capital Reinsurance Company, and members of Venton management. Underwriters Re also assumed more than $200 million in letter of credit obligations which support the activities of Venton’s subsidiary Venton Underwriting Ltd. (VUL) as an underwriting corporate member of Lloyd’s. In addition to VUL, Underwriters Re acquired Venton Underwriting Agencies Ltd., a Lloyd’s managing agency. The insurance and reinsurance business underwritten by Venton includes a broad product mix of property, casualty, marine and other risks. Its clients are located around the world, primarily in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada and Australia. This year will see Venton’s London operations manage nearly $750 million of capacity, of which VUL will provide approximately three-fourths.
General Re, in a statement released November 3, 1998, announced that it was acquiring Lloyd’s agency DP Mann Holdings Ltd., which manages Syndicate 435 via its managing agency DP Mann Ltd. Syndicate 435 had premium capacity of about $570 million in 1998.
In December 1996, PXRE established a presence at Lloyd’s when it completed the organization of PXRE Managing Agency and PG Butler Syndicate 1224. PXRE Managing Agency had initial underwriting capacity of approximately $90 million (at December 31, 1998 exchange rates). PG Butler underwrites specialty types of insurance and reinsura nce including short tail excess of loss medical coverages and personal accident business as well as catastrophe related coverages, marine and aerospace reinsurance and facultative insurance.
From tropical heat to Lime Street
Bermuda players have also entered Lloyd’s through the acquisition of managing agencies and/or creation of syndicates. According to Standard & Poor’s, the major source of growth for a few players in the Bermuda market has been business diversification into Lloyd’s syndicate business: marine, aviation, satellite, and other short-tail lines. Directors and Officers (D&O), employment practices and professional liability are also becoming big lines in the market.
According to Global Reinsurance (March-May 1999), “turning to Lloyd’s private companies, Bermudian insurance companies are among the leading investors.” The Bermuda Market Report (1998) states that Bermudian capital accounted for a hefty 10% (approximately $2.8 billion) of Lloyd’s total market capacity for 1998 — up from 7% in 1997.
ACE, says Global Reinsurance, “has the most significant stake in Lloyd’s in terms of capacity controlled….”. ACE entered the Lloyd’s market in 1996 with its purchase of Methuen Underwriting Ltd. and Ockham Worldwide Holdings Plc, which now form ACE London’s underwriting business at Lloyd’s. In June of 1998, ACE also acquired UK-based Tarquin Ltd., a holding company which owns Lloyd’s managing agency Charman Underwriting Agencies Ltd. and Tarquin Underwriting Ltd. ACE London represents one of the largest single underwriting groups in the Lloyd’s market with underwriting capacity of approximately 692 million sterling (approximately $1.6 billion) for the 1998 year.
Terra Nova owns Octavian Syndicate Management Ltd., which currently manages eight syndicates, one of which was formed for the 1998 year of account. The total 1999 capacity of the syndicates is 386 million (approximately $890 million). The syndicates cover all major markets and lead a significant proportion of risks. Terra Nova announced the acquisition of Octavian in June 1995.
XL owns Lloyd’s managing agency Brockbank Group, which it received as part of its purchase of Mid Ocean Re. Lloyd’s premiums accounted for 36% of Mid Ocean’s net written premiums in 1997. According to Mid Ocean CEO Michael Butt, as quoted in the Bermuda Market Report, the rationale behind its initial investment in Lloyd’s was that it offered Mid Ocean access to worldwide licences and to underwriting skills in an agency with a profitable record and without potential long-tail liabilities. Originally a mono-line cat writer, the addition of Brockbank had changed Mid Ocean’s business mix substantially. By 1997 just 30% of the company’s $740 million in net written premiums came from property catastrophe business.
Along with Mid Ocean/Brockbank, the acquisition of NAC Re gave XL another Lloyd’s agency — Denham. Brockbank writes mainly non-liability business, while Denham Syndicate Management Ltd. writes mainly liability.
LaSalle Re corporate capital supported three syndicates with $26 million of capital for 1997. And Global Capital Re (now XL Global Re) has also invested in Lloyd’s. Bermuda-based Stockton Reinsurance announced in December last year that it signed a conditional agreement to acquire Lloyd’s insurer Crowe Insurance Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. Crowe, one of the largest remaining independent managing agencies at Lloyd’s, manages six syndicates with total premium income capacity of over 230 million (approximately $530 million) for 1999. The group is best known for its motor Syndicate 963, which currently writes over 150 million (approximately $345 million) in commercial and specialist personal motor business in the UK and overseas, including Canada.
Fishing where the fish are
Lloyd’s has long been known as the market where anything can be insured. And though it admits that this isn’t a completely accurate statement, Lloyd’s does boast of the innovative covers that it has drafted, including:
Satellite danger — Insuring individuals in case they are hit by a piece of disintegrating satellite;
Cosmonaut’s life — Personal accident insurance for Russian MIR cosmonauts;
Croc cover — Reinsuring a company against crocodile attack in northern Australia;
Largest smoke — Coverage for the world’s longest smoke (a 12.5 foot-long cigar);
Monster risk — Insuring Cutty Sark Whisky, which offered a 1 million prize (about $2.3 million) to anyone who captured the Loch Ness monster alive, in case somebody won the contest;
Lottery winners — Providing cover to employers in the event that two or more staff-members win the UK national lottery and don’t return to work.
But, despite the reputation of writing insurance for bizarre risks, the market has sizeable chunks of traditional business, including about 12.9% of the world’s marine business and 22.7% of its aviation business. Approximately 3.5% of the world’s reinsurance is placed at Lloyd’s. What’s more, the market has created a structure which allows the admission of captive syndicates and is looking at other areas centering on alternative risk transfer.
According to Swiss Re’s sigma 9/98 “The global reinsurance market in the midst of consolidation,” The London market has a high reinsurance cession rate of approximately 30%. This is “an indication of the strong demand for reinsurance, because of the market’s structure: here marine and aviation risks, along with industrial property and liability risks, are mainly insured with a large number of providers whose capitalization is relatively small.”
So, when you couple Lloyd’s of London’s international reach, access to a broad product range, and location in the fourth largest world insurance market where demand for reinsurance is high, it is clear why many of the world’s foremost reinsurers are interested in entering the market through managing agencies and/or syndicates.
According to Gerling UK’s chief executive officer, Felix Zaccar, when asked about his company’s first foray into Lloyd’s, “As more and more [German clients] become worldwide, we’ve got to go to the markets where they are”. This is true for any reinsurer.
STRUCTURE OF LLOYD’S OF LONDON (AT THE BEGINNING OF 1999):
| 1999 | 1998 | |
| Managing agents | 63 | 63 |
| Members’ agents | 12 | 16 |
| Combined agents | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 75 | 85 |
| Syndicates | 139 | 156 |
| Lloyd’s brokers | 175 | 209 |
| Licensed Lloyd’s advisers | 2 | 3 |
Combine a string of costly natural catastrophes and manmade accidents, a one-of-a-kind operational structure, litigation from thousands of disgruntled investors and investigations from U.S. securities regulators and the attorneys-general of several states, and you get serious trouble. Though rumors of the demise of Lloyd’s of London were exaggerated, the 300-year-old market came awfully close.
Aside from a number of large claims and the prospect of paying billions in settlements, the market was hemorrhaging investment capital (and, hence, capacity) as unlimited liability investors left in droves. Not all that long ago, the capital supporting risks underwritten at Lloyd’s was provided solely by individual members known as “Names”, many of whom mortgaged their homes or put up other personal assets in order to invest. During the 1980s, the number of Names investing in Lloyd’s exceeded 30,000. By the early 1990s this number had dropped by more than a third. Similarly, the number of syndicates that made up the Lloyd’s market went from a peak of 401 in 1990 to 139 in 1999 (Lloyd’s members are grouped into syndicates represented by a professional underwriter who accepts risks on behalf of the entity). The drop in total syndicates was primarily a result of mergers and retirement from business.
Restructuring — no small task
As these problems came to light and their impact began to be felt by the organization, a task force commissioned by the Council of Lloyd’s in 1991 was charged with the responsibility of considering the market’s capital base with a view to the future. The report — published in February 1992 — recommended several fundamental reforms which were used as the basis of a business plan published in 1993. The most fundamental proposal was for the admission to the market of limited liability capital in the form of corporate members. The submission was approved in October 1993. This would mark a major departure from the way capital had been infused into Lloyd’s since its beginnings in the 17th century.
The admission to Lloyd’s of corporate capital began on January 1, 1994. However, according to strict guidelines, these entities had to limit their capacity to 20% in any one syndicate. At this time, 25 corporate investors were admitted to membership (12 of which were listed investment companies created solely for the purpose of investing in Lloyd’s). They accounted for 15% of Lloyd’s total capacity that year.
Four key “liberalizations” that became effective on June 30, 1995 further encouraged infusion of corporate capital into Lloyd’s, and probably changed the structure of the venerable London market icon forever:
Integration of corporate members and managing agencies was permitted;
Conversion from traditional to corporate syndicates was encouraged;
Limitations on the capacity to come from corporate capital were lifted; and,
Insurance companies were free to acquire an interest in a managing agency.
As a result of these changes, the early guideline dictating that corporate entities had to be dedicated solely to Lloyd’s (with no other activities other than incidental ones) was abolished. Additionally, the 20% capacity limitation per syndicate was extended to 100%. Also, when corporate investors were first permitted at Lloyd’s, they could own just 25% of a managing agency (managing agencies are entities which are responsible for all aspects of running Lloyd’s syndicates). This, too, was bumped up to 100%.
These reforms began to attract desperately needed corporate capital into Lloyd’s. In 1994, corporate members contributed $3.9 billion in capacity (1999 dollars) to the market. However by 1999, the number of corporate members had grown to 668 with capacity totaling almost $17.8 billion (Lloyd’s total capacity this year is close to $23 billion). Contributions from professional insurance and reinsurance companies account for 32% of Lloyd’s 1999 corporate capital.
Big names, big money
Since the time of these reforms, many reinsurers have either snapped up Lloyd’s managing agencies, acquired existing syndicates or formed new syndicates.
One of the most recent deals came June 15 when Swiss Re announced plans to form a new syndicate at Lloyd’s along with Chartwell Re. This is the first time that Swiss Re is a major investor in a Lloyd’s syndicate. The new syndicate will be a mono-line carrier focusing on hull marine insurance. It intends to launch the operation in the fall of this year with a view to attaching risks from the beginning of 2000. Chartwell Re, through its subsidiary Chartwell Holdings Ltd., has participated in Lloyd’s since late November of 1996 when it acquired Archer Group Holdings Plc. (renamed Chartwell UK Plc). The unit is the parent holding company of Archer Managing Agents Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Managing Agents Ltd.) and Archer Underwriting Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Underwriting).
The day after the Swiss Re/Chart-well deal was announced, Gerling said that it would enter Lloyd’s through the purchase of managing agency Owen & Wilby for $4.7 million. Gerling said it was not as much interested in Owen & Wilby’s existing services as much as its licenses to operate. Gerling said the acquisition would allow it to deal directly with clients, even in small markets, without the need for local partners.
In March of this year Munich Re announced that it purchased Northern Marine Underwriters for about $4.7 million. Northern Marine, which writes British cargo business from offices in Leeds, Manchester, has traditionally operated under a binding authority issued by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s. A binding authority allows an intermediary to accept specific kinds of insurance risk on behalf of an underwriter or group of underwriters at Lloyd’s.
NAC Re Corp. announced in January of 1998 that it would purchase all the assets of Morgan, Fentiman & Barber, managers of Lloyd’s non-marine syndicate 990, commonly known as Denham. Denham, formed in 1928, is an underwriter of specialized covers concentrating on long-tail casualty lines and non-marine physical damage, including both direct and reinsurance business. Denham’s underwriting vehicle, Stonebridge Underwriting Ltd., operates as a subsidiary of NAC Re International Holdings Ltd. NAC’s capacity in Denham for the 1999 underwriting year is over $68 million, which it estimates will generate 1999 premiums of approximately $60 million.
In the summer of 1998, Underwriters Reinsurance Co. announced the acquisition of Venton Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, for about $290 million. Venton, which has operations in London and Bermuda, was purchased from owners which included a subsidiary of the Trident Partnership, XL Insurance Company Ltd., Risk Capital Reinsurance Company, and members of Venton management. Underwriters Re also assumed more than $200 million in letter of credit obligations which support the activities of Venton’s subsidiary Venton Underwriting Ltd. (VUL) as an underwriting corporate member of Lloyd’s. In addition to VUL, Underwriters Re acquired Venton Underwriting Agencies Ltd., a Lloyd’s managing agency. The insurance and reinsurance business underwritten by Venton includes a broad product mix of property, casualty, marine and other risks. Its clients are located around the world, primarily in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada and Australia. This year will see Venton’s London operations manage nearly $750 million of capacity, of which VUL will provide approximately three-fourths.
General Re, in a statement released November 3, 1998, announced that it was acquiring Lloyd’s agency DP Mann Holdings Ltd., which manages Syndicate 435 via its managing agency DP Mann Ltd. Syndicate 435 had premium capacity of about $570 million in 1998.
In December 1996, PXRE established a presence at Lloyd’s when it completed the organization of PXRE Managing Agency and PG Butler Syndicate 1224. PXRE Managing Agency had initial underwriting capacity of approximately $90 million (at December 31, 1998 exchange rates). PG Butler underwrites specialty types of insurance and reinsura nce including short tail excess of loss medical coverages and personal accident business as well as catastrophe related coverages, marine and aerospace reinsurance and facultative insurance.
From tropical heat to Lime Street
Bermuda players have also entered Lloyd’s through the acquisition of managing agencies and/or creation of syndicates. According to Standard & Poor’s, the major source of growth for a few players in the Bermuda market has been business diversification into Lloyd’s syndicate business: marine, aviation, satellite, and other short-tail lines. Directors and Officers (D&O), employment practices and professional liability are also becoming big lines in the market.
According to Global Reinsurance (March-May 1999), “turning to Lloyd’s private companies, Bermudian insurance companies are among the leading investors.” The Bermuda Market Report (1998) states that Bermudian capital accounted for a hefty 10% (approximately $2.8 billion) of Lloyd’s total market capacity for 1998 — up from 7% in 1997.
ACE, says Global Reinsurance, “has the most significant stake in Lloyd’s in terms of capacity controlled….”. ACE entered the Lloyd’s market in 1996 with its purchase of Methuen Underwriting Ltd. and Ockham Worldwide Holdings Plc, which now form ACE London’s underwriting business at Lloyd’s. In June of 1998, ACE also acquired UK-based Tarquin Ltd., a holding company which owns Lloyd’s managing agency Charman Underwriting Agencies Ltd. and Tarquin Underwriting Ltd. ACE London represents one of the largest single underwriting groups in the Lloyd’s market with underwriting capacity of approximately 692 million sterling (approximately $1.6 billion) for the 1998 year.
Terra Nova owns Octavian Syndicate Management Ltd., which currently manages eight syndicates, one of which was formed for the 1998 year of account. The total 1999 capacity of the syndicates is 386 million (approximately $890 million). The syndicates cover all major markets and lead a significant proportion of risks. Terra Nova announced the acquisition of Octavian in June 1995.
XL owns Lloyd’s managing agency Brockbank Group, which it received as part of its purchase of Mid Ocean Re. Lloyd’s premiums accounted for 36% of Mid Ocean’s net written premiums in 1997. According to Mid Ocean CEO Michael Butt, as quoted in the Bermuda Market Report, the rationale behind its initial investment in Lloyd’s was that it offered Mid Ocean access to worldwide licences and to underwriting skills in an agency with a profitable record and without potential long-tail liabilities. Originally a mono-line cat writer, the addition of Brockbank had changed Mid Ocean’s business mix substantially. By 1997 just 30% of the company’s $740 million in net written premiums came from property catastrophe business.
Along with Mid Ocean/Brockbank, the acquisition of NAC Re gave XL another Lloyd’s agency — Denham. Brockbank writes mainly non-liability business, while Denham Syndicate Management Ltd. writes mainly liability.
LaSalle Re corporate capital supported three syndicates with $26 million of capital for 1997. And Global Capital Re (now XL Global Re) has also invested in Lloyd’s. Bermuda-based Stockton Reinsurance announced in December last year that it signed a conditional agreement to acquire Lloyd’s insurer Crowe Insurance Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. Crowe, one of the largest remaining independent managing agencies at Lloyd’s, manages six syndicates with total premium income capacity of over 230 million (approximately $530 million) for 1999. The group is best known for its motor Syndicate 963, which currently writes over 150 million (approximately $345 million) in commercial and specialist personal motor business in the UK and overseas, including Canada.
Fishing where the fish are
Lloyd’s has long been known as the market where anything can be insured. And though it admits that this isn’t a completely accurate statement, Lloyd’s does boast of the innovative covers that it has drafted, including:
Satellite danger — Insuring individuals in case they are hit by a piece of disintegrating satellite;
Cosmonaut’s life — Personal accident insurance for Russian MIR cosmonauts;
Croc cover — Reinsuring a company against crocodile attack in northern Australia;
Largest smoke — Coverage for the world’s longest smoke (a 12.5 foot-long cigar);
Monster risk — Insuring Cutty Sark Whisky, which offered a 1 million prize (about $2.3 million) to anyone who captured the Loch Ness monster alive, in case somebody won the contest;
Lottery winners — Providing cover to employers in the event that two or more staff-members win the UK national lottery and don’t return to work.
But, despite the reputation of writing insurance for bizarre risks, the market has sizeable chunks of traditional business, including about 12.9% of the world’s marine business and 22.7% of its aviation business. Approximately 3.5% of the world’s reinsurance is placed at Lloyd’s. What’s more, the market has created a structure which allows the admission of captive syndicates and is looking at other areas centering on alternative risk transfer.
According to Swiss Re’s sigma 9/98 “The global reinsurance market in the midst of consolidation,” The London market has a high reinsurance cession rate of approximately 30%. This is “an indication of the strong demand for reinsurance, because of the market’s structure: here marine and aviation risks, along with industrial property and liability risks, are mainly insured with a large number of providers whose capitalization is relatively small.”
So, when you couple Lloyd’s of London’s international reach, access to a broad product range, and location in the fourth largest world insurance market where demand for reinsurance is high, it is clear why many of the world’s foremost reinsurers are interested in entering the market through managing agencies and/or syndicates.
According to Gerling UK’s chief executive officer, Felix Zaccar, when asked about his company’s first foray into Lloyd’s, “As more and more [German clients] become worldwide, we’ve got to go to the markets where they are”. This is true for any reinsurer.
STRUCTURE OF LLOYD’S OF LONDON (AT THE BEGINNING OF 1999):
| 1999 | 1998 | |
| Managing agents | 63 | 63 |
| Members’ agents | 12 | 16 |
| Combined agents | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 75 | 85 |
| Syndicates | 139 | 156 |
| Lloyd’s brokers | 175 | 209 |
| Licensed Lloyd’s advisers | 2 | 3 |
Combine a string of costly natural catastrophes and manmade accidents, a one-of-a-kind operational structure, litigation from thousands of disgruntled investors and investigations from U.S. securities regulators and the attorneys-general of several states, and you get serious trouble. Though rumors of the demise of Lloyd’s of London were exaggerated, the 300-year-old market came awfully close.
Aside from a number of large claims and the prospect of paying billions in settlements, the market was hemorrhaging investment capital (and, hence, capacity) as unlimited liability investors left in droves. Not all that long ago, the capital supporting risks underwritten at Lloyd’s was provided solely by individual members known as “Names”, many of whom mortgaged their homes or put up other personal assets in order to invest. During the 1980s, the number of Names investing in Lloyd’s exceeded 30,000. By the early 1990s this number had dropped by more than a third. Similarly, the number of syndicates that made up the Lloyd’s market went from a peak of 401 in 1990 to 139 in 1999 (Lloyd’s members are grouped into syndicates represented by a professional underwriter who accepts risks on behalf of the entity). The drop in total syndicates was primarily a result of mergers and retirement from business.
Restructuring — no small task
As these problems came to light and their impact began to be felt by the organization, a task force commissioned by the Council of Lloyd’s in 1991 was charged with the responsibility of considering the market’s capital base with a view to the future. The report — published in February 1992 — recommended several fundamental reforms which were used as the basis of a business plan published in 1993. The most fundamental proposal was for the admission to the market of limited liability capital in the form of corporate members. The submission was approved in October 1993. This would mark a major departure from the way capital had been infused into Lloyd’s since its beginnings in the 17th century.
The admission to Lloyd’s of corporate capital began on January 1, 1994. However, according to strict guidelines, these entities had to limit their capacity to 20% in any one syndicate. At this time, 25 corporate investors were admitted to membership (12 of which were listed investment companies created solely for the purpose of investing in Lloyd’s). They accounted for 15% of Lloyd’s total capacity that year.
Four key “liberalizations” that became effective on June 30, 1995 further encouraged infusion of corporate capital into Lloyd’s, and probably changed the structure of the venerable London market icon forever:
Integration of corporate members and managing agencies was permitted;
Conversion from traditional to corporate syndicates was encouraged;
Limitations on the capacity to come from corporate capital were lifted; and,
Insurance companies were free to acquire an interest in a managing agency.
As a result of these changes, the early guideline dictating that corporate entities had to be dedicated solely to Lloyd’s (with no other activities other than incidental ones) was abolished. Additionally, the 20% capacity limitation per syndicate was extended to 100%. Also, when corporate investors were first permitted at Lloyd’s, they could own just 25% of a managing agency (managing agencies are entities which are responsible for all aspects of running Lloyd’s syndicates). This, too, was bumped up to 100%.
These reforms began to attract desperately needed corporate capital into Lloyd’s. In 1994, corporate members contributed $3.9 billion in capacity (1999 dollars) to the market. However by 1999, the number of corporate members had grown to 668 with capacity totaling almost $17.8 billion (Lloyd’s total capacity this year is close to $23 billion). Contributions from professional insurance and reinsurance companies account for 32% of Lloyd’s 1999 corporate capital.
Big names, big money
Since the time of these reforms, many reinsurers have either snapped up Lloyd’s managing agencies, acquired existing syndicates or formed new syndicates.
One of the most recent deals came June 15 when Swiss Re announced plans to form a new syndicate at Lloyd’s along with Chartwell Re. This is the first time that Swiss Re is a major investor in a Lloyd’s syndicate. The new syndicate will be a mono-line carrier focusing on hull marine insurance. It intends to launch the operation in the fall of this year with a view to attaching risks from the beginning of 2000. Chartwell Re, through its subsidiary Chartwell Holdings Ltd., has participated in Lloyd’s since late November of 1996 when it acquired Archer Group Holdings Plc. (renamed Chartwell UK Plc). The unit is the parent holding company of Archer Managing Agents Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Managing Agents Ltd.) and Archer Underwriting Ltd. (renamed Chartwell Underwriting).
The day after the Swiss Re/Chart-well deal was announced, Gerling said that it would enter Lloyd’s through the purchase of managing agency Owen & Wilby for $4.7 million. Gerling said it was not as much interested in Owen & Wilby’s existing services as much as its licenses to operate. Gerling said the acquisition would allow it to deal directly with clients, even in small markets, without the need for local partners.
In March of this year Munich Re announced that it purchased Northern Marine Underwriters for about $4.7 million. Northern Marine, which writes British cargo business from offices in Leeds, Manchester, has traditionally operated under a binding authority issued by certain underwriters at Lloyd’s. A binding authority allows an intermediary to accept specific kinds of insurance risk on behalf of an underwriter or group of underwriters at Lloyd’s.
NAC Re Corp. announced in January of 1998 that it would purchase all the assets of Morgan, Fentiman & Barber, managers of Lloyd’s non-marine syndicate 990, commonly known as Denham. Denham, formed in 1928, is an underwriter of specialized covers concentrating on long-tail casualty lines and non-marine physical damage, including both direct and reinsurance business. Denham’s underwriting vehicle, Stonebridge Underwriting Ltd., operates as a subsidiary of NAC Re International Holdings Ltd. NAC’s capacity in Denham for the 1999 underwriting year is over $68 million, which it estimates will generate 1999 premiums of approximately $60 million.
In the summer of 1998, Underwriters Reinsurance Co. announced the acquisition of Venton Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurer and reinsurer, for about $290 million. Venton, which has operations in London and Bermuda, was purchased from owners which included a subsidiary of the Trident Partnership, XL Insurance Company Ltd., Risk Capital Reinsurance Company, and members of Venton management. Underwriters Re also assumed more than $200 million in letter of credit obligations which support the activities of Venton’s subsidiary Venton Underwriting Ltd. (VUL) as an underwriting corporate member of Lloyd’s. In addition to VUL, Underwriters Re acquired Venton Underwriting Agencies Ltd., a Lloyd’s managing agency. The insurance and reinsurance business underwritten by Venton includes a broad product mix of property, casualty, marine and other risks. Its clients are located around the world, primarily in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Canada and Australia. This year will see Venton’s London operations manage nearly $750 million of capacity, of which VUL will provide approximately three-fourths.
General Re, in a statement released November 3, 1998, announced that it was acquiring Lloyd’s agency DP Mann Holdings Ltd., which manages Syndicate 435 via its managing agency DP Mann Ltd. Syndicate 435 had premium capacity of about $570 million in 1998.
In December 1996, PXRE established a presence at Lloyd’s when it completed the organization of PXRE Managing Agency and PG Butler Syndicate 1224. PXRE Managing Agency had initial underwriting capacity of approximately $90 million (at December 31, 1998 exchange rates). PG Butler underwrites specialty types of insurance and reinsura nce including short tail excess of loss medical coverages and personal accident business as well as catastrophe related coverages, marine and aerospace reinsurance and facultative insurance.
From tropical heat to Lime Street
Bermuda players have also entered Lloyd’s through the acquisition of managing agencies and/or creation of syndicates. According to Standard & Poor’s, the major source of growth for a few players in the Bermuda market has been business diversification into Lloyd’s syndicate business: marine, aviation, satellite, and other short-tail lines. Directors and Officers (D&O), employment practices and professional liability are also becoming big lines in the market.
According to Global Reinsurance (March-May 1999), “turning to Lloyd’s private companies, Bermudian insurance companies are among the leading investors.” The Bermuda Market Report (1998) states that Bermudian capital accounted for a hefty 10% (approximately $2.8 billion) of Lloyd’s total market capacity for 1998 — up from 7% in 1997.
ACE, says Global Reinsurance, “has the most significant stake in Lloyd’s in terms of capacity controlled….”. ACE entered the Lloyd’s market in 1996 with its purchase of Methuen Underwriting Ltd. and Ockham Worldwide Holdings Plc, which now form ACE London’s underwriting business at Lloyd’s. In June of 1998, ACE also acquired UK-based Tarquin Ltd., a holding company which owns Lloyd’s managing agency Charman Underwriting Agencies Ltd. and Tarquin Underwriting Ltd. ACE London represents one of the largest single underwriting groups in the Lloyd’s market with underwriting capacity of approximately 692 million sterling (approximately $1.6 billion) for the 1998 year.
Terra Nova owns Octavian Syndicate Management Ltd., which currently manages eight syndicates, one of which was formed for the 1998 year of account. The total 1999 capacity of the syndicates is 386 million (approximately $890 million). The syndicates cover all major markets and lead a significant proportion of risks. Terra Nova announced the acquisition of Octavian in June 1995.
XL owns Lloyd’s managing agency Brockbank Group, which it received as part of its purchase of Mid Ocean Re. Lloyd’s premiums accounted for 36% of Mid Ocean’s net written premiums in 1997. According to Mid Ocean CEO Michael Butt, as quoted in the Bermuda Market Report, the rationale behind its initial investment in Lloyd’s was that it offered Mid Ocean access to worldwide licences and to underwriting skills in an agency with a profitable record and without potential long-tail liabilities. Originally a mono-line cat writer, the addition of Brockbank had changed Mid Ocean’s business mix substantially. By 1997 just 30% of the company’s $740 million in net written premiums came from property catastrophe business.
Along with Mid Ocean/Brockbank, the acquisition of NAC Re gave XL another Lloyd’s agency — Denham. Brockbank writes mainly non-liability business, while Denham Syndicate Management Ltd. writes mainly liability.
LaSalle Re corporate capital supported three syndicates with $26 million of capital for 1997. And Global Capital Re (now XL Global Re) has also invested in Lloyd’s. Bermuda-based Stockton Reinsurance announced in December last year that it signed a conditional agreement to acquire Lloyd’s insurer Crowe Insurance Group Ltd. and its subsidiaries. Crowe, one of the largest remaining independent managing agencies at Lloyd’s, manages six syndicates with total premium income capacity of over 230 million (approximately $530 million) for 1999. The group is best known for its motor Syndicate 963, which currently writes over 150 million (approximately $345 million) in commercial and specialist personal motor business in the UK and overseas, including Canada.
Fishing where the fish are
Lloyd’s has long been known as the market where anything can be insured. And though it admits that this isn’t a completely accurate statement, Lloyd’s does boast of the innovative covers that it has drafted, including:
Satellite danger — Insuring individuals in case they are hit by a piece of disintegrating satellite;
Cosmonaut’s life — Personal accident insurance for Russian MIR cosmonauts;
Croc cover — Reinsuring a company against crocodile attack in northern Australia;
Largest smoke — Coverage for the world’s longest smoke (a 12.5 foot-long cigar);
Monster risk — Insuring Cutty Sark Whisky, which offered a 1 million prize (about $2.3 million) to anyone who captured the Loch Ness monster alive, in case somebody won the contest;
Lottery winners — Providing cover to employers in the event that two or more staff-members win the UK national lottery and don’t return to work.
But, despite the reputation of writing insurance for bizarre risks, the market has sizeable chunks of traditional business, including about 12.9% of the world’s marine business and 22.7% of its aviation business. Approximately 3.5% of the world’s reinsurance is placed at Lloyd’s. What’s more, the market has created a structure which allows the admission of captive syndicates and is looking at other areas centering on alternative risk transfer.
According to Swiss Re’s sigma 9/98 “The global reinsurance market in the midst of consolidation,” The London market has a high reinsurance cession rate of approximately 30%. This is “an indication of the strong demand for reinsurance, because of the market’s structure: here marine and aviation risks, along with industrial property and liability risks, are mainly insured with a large number of providers whose capitalization is relatively small.”
So, when you couple Lloyd’s of London’s international reach, access to a broad product range, and location in the fourth largest world insurance market where demand for reinsurance is high, it is clear why many of the world’s foremost reinsurers are interested in entering the market through managing agencies and/or syndicates.
According to Gerling UK’s chief executive officer, Felix Zaccar, when asked about his company’s first foray into Lloyd’s, “As more and more [German clients] become worldwide, we’ve got to go to the markets where they are”. This is true for any reinsurer.
STRUCTURE OF LLOYD’S OF LONDON (AT THE BEGINNING OF 1999):
| 1999 | 1998 | |
| Managing agents | 63 | 63 |
| Members’ agents | 12 | 16 |
| Combined agents | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 75 | 85 |
| Syndicates | 139 | 156 |
| Lloyd’s brokers | 175 | 209 |
| Licensed Lloyd’s advisers | 2 | 3 |
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