Category: Lloyd's market · Reviewed by Al Jabbar, Broker · Specialist Risks · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
Lloyd’s of London is the world’s specialist insurance and reinsurance market, structured as a society of underwriting members (‘Names’, individual or corporate) who participate in syndicates managed by FCA- and PRA-regulated Managing Agents. Lloyd’s is regulated under the Lloyd’s Act 1982 and supervised by the PRA and FCA.
Category: Lloyd’s market Also known as: Lloyd’s, The Society of Lloyd’s, Lloyd’s Insurance Market Established: 1688 (Edward Lloyd’s coffee house); incorporated 1871 Related legislation: Lloyd’s Acts 1871–1982; Solvency II Directive 2009/138/EC; PRA Insurance Rulebook
Lloyd’s is not an insurance company. It is a marketplace in which insurance and reinsurance is underwritten by syndicates of capital providers. Each syndicate is managed by a managing agent (a regulated firm), capitalised by Names (today predominantly corporate Names — insurance groups, reinsurers and capital funds), and writes insurance through an active underwriter on behalf of the syndicate.
Underlying contractual relationships at Lloyd’s are between the policyholder and the underwriting members of each subscribing syndicate, severally and not jointly — i.e. each Name is liable only for its proportionate share. The Lloyd’s chain of security — premium trust funds, Funds at Lloyd’s and the Central Fund — provides the financial backing for those individual liabilities.
The market wrote around £53bn of gross written premium in 2024 (Lloyd’s Annual Report 2024), with a combined ratio of 86.9 per cent.
Lloyd’s is constituted by the Lloyd’s Acts 1871, 1911, 1951 and 1982. The Lloyd’s Act 1982 [1] establishes the modern governance of the Society of Lloyd’s, including the Council of Lloyd’s and the regulatory framework for managing agents and members.
The Society of Lloyd’s is dual-regulated: by the PRA (prudential matters, including the Lloyd’s chain of security and Solvency II) and by the FCA (conduct of business, market integrity). The PRA Insurance Rulebook contains a dedicated Lloyd’s chapter covering the prudential regulation of the market.
Individual managing agents are regulated as PRA/FCA authorised firms in their own right. Coverholders operating under delegated underwriting authority are regulated under the FCA insurance distribution regime.
Lloyd’s underwriting takes place principally at the underwriting floor in the Lloyd’s building at One Lime Street, where active underwriters sit at boxes and accept business presented by reinsurance and insurance brokers in slip form. Increasingly, business is also placed electronically through PPL (Placing Platform Limited) and via coverholder binding authorities outside the building.
The lead underwriter agrees terms and the following market subscribes lines until 100 per cent of the cover is placed. The Market Reform Contract (MRC) is the standard slip format. Following placement the policy is processed centrally through the Lloyd’s Policy Signing Office (the modern equivalent is Velonetic).
Claims are administered by the syndicate or by XCS (Xchanging Claims Services) for delegated claims. The Performance Management Directorate oversees syndicate underwriting performance, with the Decile 10 review targeting the worst-performing 10 per cent of underwriting accounts.
For Apex clients many UK commercial and specialty placements are written, in whole or in part, by Lloyd’s syndicates. Apex has direct broking access to Lloyd’s through London market panels.
An illustrative example: an Apex commercial client’s £40m sum insured property risk is placed in the London market. A Lloyd’s syndicate (e.g. Beazley, Hiscox, Tokio Marine Kiln) leads at 20 per cent, with following lines from other Lloyd’s syndicates and company market reinsurers completing the 100 per cent. The slip is processed via PPL and the policy issued to the client through Apex.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
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