As the specialist re/insurance marketplace Lloyd’s of London moves closer to the re-opening of its Underwriting Room on September 1, it has announced a series of safety measures that will see face coverings mandatory in all public areas of the building.
In a statement released today Lloyd’s CEO John Neal highlighted that its reception, lift lobbies and lifts, bathrooms, the coffee shop and Underwriting Room, will all be areas where face coverings will be mandatory.
In addition, the marketplace has also provided information breaking down the ways in which its organisation intends to move forward with the re-opening of its Underwriting Room.
In regards to building access, only Lloyd’s passholders will be permitted access to One Lime Street for the time being and must enter via Tower 1 or the main reception only.
Passholders are to exit Lloyd’s building via Tower 3 and Tower 5 only.
In a further effort to maintain social distances, Lloyd’s will also be reducing its capacity to 45% and will be splitting its working week by class of business.
A number of areas remain closed, including the coffee shop/restaurant seating area, events and tours, and meeting rooms.
For its underwriting boxes, Lloyd’s has installed screens at each of the boxes to enable face-to-face trading.
Brokers are to sit on the underwriting chairs alongside the underwriter, with a few exceptions where stools will still be in use. This will continue whilst social distancing guidelines remain in place.
Lloyd’s notes It is recommended that brokers and underwriters communicate in advance of coming to the company to agree a time to meet, especially as not all underwriters will choose to occupy the box.
Furthermore, brokers and underwriters will be able to connect to those outside of the Room via the digital booths located in the coffee shop. These booths are non-bookable and designed to be used for short periods of time only.
Neal also took the opportunity to provide additional details on how Lloyd’s intends to leverage technology alongside its reopening strategy.
Digital booths will offer a better virtual meeting experience with clients and colleagues who are outside of the Underwriting Room. Located in the coffee shop, they will be allocated on a first come first served basis and are designed to be used for short periods of time only.
A Connect Bar, located on the Ground Floor will be created in order for market participants to receive training and assistance with virtual meeting platforms, tools and products.
Faster Wifi has also been implemented on all underwriting floors while new screens will be installed within the Underwriting Room.
These new digital enhancements will be available from 1 September, with the Virtual Room pilot to be tested with a select number of firms before a wider release later in the year.
