Lloyd’s new General Representative in Australia, Adrian Humphreys, says he sometimes has to roll up his sleeves to get the job done.

Speaking last week in a “60-second” interview on the Lloyd’s website, he says Australia’s mature market and its capacity both in local and foreign sectors is having an effect on rates.

“The feedback seems to be, to make money you have to be extremely ‘niche’ and innovative, which utilises Lloyd’s ability to be flexible,” he says.

Mr Humphreys, who succeeded Keith Stern as Lloyd’s man in Australia in July, says his job is extremely varied, with a good mix of technical work and networking elements.

And as the Sydney office only has three staff members, he sometimes finds himself having to roll up his sleeves and “get stuck in”.

“You can be dealing with a CEO of a major carrier one minute and crawling on your hands and knees trying to fix the printer the next,” he says.

Following his appointment to the board of the Underwriting Agencies Council (UAC) in a non-voting capacity, Mr Humphreys says he plans to set up a local panel.

“It will provide me with an opportunity to play back the feedback I have received from the local market, and importantly, brokers, to ensure that any longer-term plans and effort I put in place achieve real benefit to the Lloyd’s market.”