RiskBook Ltd., an independent provider of reinsurance placement technology, has been approved by the specialist Lloyd’s of London re/insurance marketplace as a recognised electronic placement system for open market reinsurance business.
The announcement marks the first time that brokers from any firm can leverage a single user-friendly placement tool for global reinsurance placements, requiring a mixed Lloyd’s and non-Lloyd’s panel.
According to InsurTech RiskBook, the approval is also beneficial for underwriters, who are now able to comply with the Lloyd’s market’s electronic placement mandate that was introduced in late 2019, enabling firms to take advantage of incentive rebates for electronic placement.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RiskBook, Jerad Leigh, commented: “Our thanks go to Lloyd’s for welcoming Riskbook as a tool to help brokers and underwriters connect and share risks. We are confident that the result will be a larger, more streamlined flow of global reinsurance risks into the expert talent and capacity offered by the Lloyd’s market.”
Ben Rose, President of RiskBook, added: “We are enormously grateful to our beta community, and in particular the Under 35s Reinsurance Group, in helping us to design and deliver their ideal placement experience. Given the likely postponement of most major reinsurance conferences, we are hopeful that not only our secure placement features, but also our networking and group messaging tools will go the extra mile to support smooth renewals at Lloyd’s.”
For some time now, the Lloyd’s and wider London insurance and reinsurance market has been committed to modernising and leveraging advanced technology and tools in an effort to lower costs and increase efficiency.
Driven by the significant impacts of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, millions of individuals and entire businesses are working remotely in numerous parts of the world in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. For Lloyd’s, this has placed an increased focus on its digitisation efforts and highlighted the benefits of electronic placement tools.
RiskBook adds that Aon’s ABConnect system has also now been approved by Lloyd’s, which means that reinsurance brokers can now choose to use either ABConnect, GCMarketplace, or RiskBook to send transactions to the market in conformance with the Lloyd’s electronic placement mandate.
Concluding, RiskBook notes that by offering a “superior omni-broker” solution to the market, it hopes to discourage the use of DIY placement platforms among the broker community, which ultimately creates a difficult situation for underwriters and serves as a hindrance to market innovation.
RiskBook, a startup backed by Seedcamp, operates as a hyperconnected two-sided reinsurance marketplace, designed to significantly improve the placement experience for both brokers and underwriters. The approval from Lloyd’s is the first electronic placement approval of any kind for a year, and the first unrestricted approval for open market reinsurance.
