Category: Lloyd's market · Reviewed by Tim Roche, Director · PI & Commercial · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
The Lloyd’s Decile 10 review is the Performance Management Directorate’s structured remediation process targeting the worst-performing 10 per cent of syndicate underwriting accounts. Introduced in 2018, the Decile 10 review obliges managing agents to present a credible plan to return underperforming accounts to profitability or to exit them.
Category: Lloyd’s market Also known as: Decile 10, D10 review Related concepts: Lloyd’s Performance Management Directorate, Lloyd’s syndicate, Lloyd’s of London
PMD ranks all syndicate underwriting accounts by combined ratio over a defined look-back period (typically three to five accident years). The worst-performing 10 per cent — the bottom decile — is automatically subject to remediation review.
For each Decile 10 account the managing agent must present, at a PMD-led meeting, a credible plan addressing: identified causes of underperformance; proposed rate increases (typically by sub-segment); planned book composition changes (exits, retentions, new business mix); leadership and underwriting authority changes (where appropriate); and the projected timeline to acceptable combined ratio.
The Decile 10 process operates under PMD’s authority deriving from the Lloyd’s Act 1982, the bylaws of the Council of Lloyd’s and the Market Bulletins issued by the Society of Lloyd’s [1]. The process is administrative rather than statutory.
Decile 10 has had a profound effect on the underwriting culture at Lloyd’s since its introduction. Syndicates have exited materially underperforming classes (including parts of US casualty, professional indemnity, certain marine and energy segments) and have driven significant rate increases in 2018–2020.
The cumulative effect was a sustained improvement in the Lloyd’s market combined ratio from above 100 per cent (2017–2018) to 86.9 per cent (2024). Industry observers credit Decile 10 as a major driver of that improvement.
For Apex clients, the Decile 10 process has direct consequences: classes that have been remediated have seen rate rises of 15–40 per cent, and capacity in certain niches has materially contracted. Apex monitors syndicate-level remediation activity to inform placement strategy.
An illustrative example: a Lloyd’s syndicate’s UK professional indemnity book produced combined ratios of 115 per cent (2018 UY), 118 per cent (2019 UY) and 112 per cent (2020 UY). PMD included the account in the 2021 Decile 10. The managing agent presented a plan of: 22 per cent overall rate increase; exit from solicitors’ open market business; retention reduced to specified deal types; new class underwriter appointed. The combined ratio improved to 92 per cent by the 2023 underwriting year.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
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