Former Lloyd’s chairman David Rowland has died aged 85.

He was chairman from 1993-97 and the architect of key reforms that helped the market through its most difficult period, with crises besetting the market and wider industry.

Issues included rising claims from asbestos, growing pollution and health hazards in the US, and major catastrophe claims from disasters such as the Exxon Valdez oil spill and San Francisco earthquake.

“Against this background, Sir David played a critical role in ensuring Lloyd’s not only addressed its immediate challenges but… made the changes necessary to ensure it remained the world’s leading specialist market,” Chairman Bruce Carnegie-Brown said.

“It is certain that those of us who continue to take pride in what Lloyd’s has achieved owe much to Sir David.

“It is no exaggeration to say that it is only because of the efforts of Sir David and his team that Lloyd’s has continued not only to survive but to thrive.”

During his tenure Sir David oversaw moves to shore up Lloyd’s competitiveness by opening the doors to corporate capital and weakening the grip of the private ”names” financiers, changed Lloyd’s capital structure and was instrumental in the establishment of Equitas, set up to reinsure the market’s 1992-and-prior liabilities.