Lloyd’s closed its underwriting room for 24 hours on Friday to “stress test” the market’s backup trading plan as part of stepped-up preparations for the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

The shutdown, the first in the market’s 330-year history, allowed the business to assess its readiness to continue trading via the market’s electronic placement platform and other alternatives if the underwriting room needs to be closed at any point.

“This 24-hour exercise will provide valuable information on the real-life effectiveness of the [emergency trading] protocol,” Lloyd’s said in a statement before the exercise was initiated.

The underwriting room at Lloyd’s headquarters in London is where risks are placed physically.

Lloyd’s has previously assured market participants it has business continuity plans in place to ensure trading globally is not disrupted if the spread of the coronavirus outbreak worsens.

Its emergency trading protocol involves backup arrangements for placement and claims handling.

“In circumstances where it is not possible to access the underwriting room and/or for employees of some managing agents [and] Lloyd’s brokers, Lloyd’s has put in place this protocol to supplement face-to-face and electronic trading that can take place elsewhere to ensure that all necessary insurance and reinsurance can continue to be placed,” the protocol says.

Existing cover can also be extended when the emergency trading protocol is activated.

The protocol is designed also for “time-critical aspects of claims handling and determination” to be undertaken remotely using alternative mechanisms.