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Keep pace or die, Lloyd’s Chairman warns industry

Insurers must embrace new technology more quickly or risk losing control of the industry to their digital rivals, Lloyd’s Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown says.

Artificial intelligence, machines and robots are already making their presence felt as brokers seek new distribution strategies and underwriters respond by cutting them out.

“Newcomers represent a serious challenge to the London and Lloyd’s market,” Mr Carnegie-Brown told the Marsh & McLennan Young Professionals’ Global Forum in June.

“The next wave is already gaining traction, and artificial intelligence and machine learning will change the world as much, if not more, as the agricultural, industrial and digital revolutions that came before it.

“How are we going to ensure we own the future of our industry?

“We must embrace this new technology, we have to put customers at the forefront of what we do and continue to innovate.”

Lloyd’s underwriters are responding in a number of ways, such as using blockchain technology, setting global data standards and making more use of Big Data in areas such as satellite imagery to handle claims.

“We underwrite human progress and we step in when others can’t or won’t,” Mr Carnegie-Brown said.

“We owe it as much to society as we do to ourselves to ensure the industry continues to do what it does best.”