Let’s explore some of the areas you could be working in within the Corporation. Clearly, the rate at which world events can shift our focus means we can’t accurately predict exactly what we – or you – will be working on when you begin. However, it’s likely that you will be able to experience some of the areas and projects listed below.
Claims Delegated Authorities Exposure Management Human Resources Information Technology Group International Markets & Business Development International Regulatory Affairs Marketing Market Operations & North America Market Services Operational Risk Ratings & Investor Relations Relationship Management Strategy & Business Planning Underwriting Performance
Claims
It’s important that we have a coherent strategy and framework in place for if and when policyholders need to make a claim. That is this team’s responsibility: they work in partnership with the market to produce best practice guidelines, help deliver a process for agreeing claims and make sure that everything adheres to the relevant regulations. Where there are significant losses that affect a number of Lloyd’s managing agents, the team also helps to co-ordinate the market with their claims service.
What could you do here? As a graduate, you might work on a large project, such as the Claims Change Programme, or look at ways of enhancing our Claims Minimum Standards. Reviews, scoping, report writing – you’ll explore it all. This is a placement that will test and develop your project management, analysis and presentation skills. It will also give you an insight into how claims are managed in the Lloyd’s market, and explore the different roles played within that process. Delegated Authorities This is one of the most outward-facing departments within Lloyd’s..Here, we hold daily meetings with senior underwriters and brokers, to assess and approve applications from new coverholders. The team is also involved in monitoring brokers and managing agents on an ongoing basis.
As a graduate, you could be involved in reviewing or completing approvals, or managing the risk of coverholders around the world. Key to your success here will be analytical skills, a talent for managing projects and a good deal of initiative. In return, you’ll gain an excellent grounding in the principles of insurance.
Exposure Management The Exposure Management team is here to understand and manage risks that might affect the market – and also highlight any emerging risks. This falls into four main areas. Firstly, we look at Realistic Disaster Scenarios (RDS): possible events that could affect the syndicates and the market. The team also looks at how prepared managing agents will be to cope with a large event or claim. The third area involves identifying and educating the market about possible future risks.
This is an excellent area to build up technical, analytical, research and project management skills. You’ll build up a broad understanding of catastrophe risk management and the different classes of business underwritten at Lloyd’s. You’ll also be introduced to reinsurance and alternative risk transfer.
Human Resources
Managing people is entirely unlike any other kind of management. The fundamental challenge in HR sounds easy: how do you create the conditions to allow people to contribute more effectively? In practice, it’s a subtle and complex process. Human Resources works with teams and individuals from across the business to ensure we get the best from our people and respond to their needs through rewards; learning and development; recruitment; performance management; succession planning; and talent management. More than ever, HR is having to take a strategic approach, work closely with different business areas and deliver real impact.
Graduates here could help shape this strategy by undertaking important policy review work such as benchmarking our talent management policy against those of other leading-edge companies. Equally, you could be auditing our preferred suppliers to make sure we are only using the best services. Alternatively, you may be helping to put new HR processes into place within the Corporation. Clearly, building relationships both within the Corporation and the market will be important. You’ll also need to manage projects, be keen to improve processes and procedures, and always focus on the needs of the people you’re working with and for.
Information Technology Group ITG is responsible for setting the direction our IT strategy takes. They get involved in both day-to-day operations and important technology initiatives.
Working here as graduate will give you an understanding of many departments throughout the Corporation and how they interact. It will also give you exposure to how we prioritise and plan technology-related projects. So, you’ll help shape, develop and refine requirements for a variety of projects, all of which will develop your innovative thinking, decision making, problem solving and interpersonal skills.
International Markets & Business Development Although we have established operations in many different parts of the world, new opportunities are emerging all the time. International Markets & Business Development is responsible for promoting Lloyd’s, looking for business opportunities and monitoring emerging markets across the globe. We also manage Lloyd’s network of international representatives (outside of North America), who are there to support Lloyd's underwriters in trading globally through our network of licenses.
A placement here would give you the opportunity to research in-depth either an established or an emerging market. You would have the opportunity to improve your understanding of various economies and insurance markets around the world, of Lloyd’s business development priorities and of the information managing agents need from the Corporation. It’s likely that you’ll take charge of your own report from start to finish, so you’ll be involved in planning the project, pitching to one of our directors, conducting research both at your desk and through interviews with people from the market – and then writing up and publishing a report of your findings. It is also important for areas such as Market Intelligence to keep this information as up to date and commercially relevant as possible, on over 50 territories.
Analytical skills are a must here, and you’ll need to be able to use technology to gather, sort, analyse, translate and report data.
International Regulatory Affairs The International Regulatory Affairs team is responsible for developing and managing Lloyd’s relationships with regulators – and influencing regulatory policy – in all overseas territories in which Lloyd’s writes business. This is important as it’s the regulators who grant, control – and can withdraw – the international licences that are one of the major reasons managing agents choose to trade with Lloyd’s.
A placement here could involve monitoring and analysing regulations and relevant legislation. It could involve planning Lloyd’s regulators programme, where we invite regulators from around the world to spend a week at Lloyd’s. Equally, it could involve evaluating and preparing reports on Lloyd’s position in individual countries. Whatever you tackle, your analytical and logical skills will be tested to the full: you’ll need to grasp – and participate in – complex projects and processes, and draw on strong written and oral communication skills.
Marketing Lloyd’s has to promote itself to many different audiences. In each case; however, it’s crucial that the Lloyd’s brand has a strong and consistent presence. So, in Marketing, we get involved in a range of roles, including market research; marketing communications; campaigns; corporate reporting; brand development; and brand protection. We conduct customer research to inform what we do. Our aim is to raise awareness of the Lloyd’s market, and educate, engage and influence important audiences.
Working in this area, you could expect to be co-ordinating and delivering projects to promote the Lloyd’s market and brand worldwide. This could include the production of high-profile publications or helping to run creative campaigns. You could also support market research by designing questionnaires, analysing results and producing reports. You may work as part of a team for some projects or autonomously on others. Either way, you will need to be able to build good relationships within the Lloyd’s market, internal customers within the Corporation and Lloyd’s international representatives.
All of this will enable you to develop your understanding of brand and marketing theory and how to apply it in practical situations. You’ll also develop project and supplier management skills and the ability to juggle competing workloads and priorities.
Market Operations & North America The first part of the title here refers to the work we do to make Lloyd’s a more attractive place to do business. This means making sure that business can be conducted efficiently, at a reasonable cost and with excellent service. We also manage the operations of our North American offices. There are many interesting challenges in this part of the world, for example, insurance for wind storms and hurricanes in Florida.
On a placement here, you could be involved in a number of different projects. This might involve developing a new market directory and messaging exchange, which will revolutionise the way messages are sent and received by managing agents and brokers. It might involve analysing a business process either across Lloyd’s or, more specifically, in North America.
Above all, this is an opportunity to understand all the different change projects currently affecting the market and the many agendas involved. It is a chance to understand the importance of stakeholder management and its practical implications, and it will need you to be analytical and able to communicate clearly with a large number of stakeholders.
Market Services Much goes on in Market Services – the majority of which is focused on working with Lloyd’s members and the provision of tailored services. We take care of the administration of members’ underwriting affairs at Lloyd’s, checking to make sure they have sufficient funds to meet their underwriting obligations. We also provide assistance with any enquiries or grievances policyholders or overseas Departments of Insurance may have.
In this area, graduates will be able to gain both an excellent insight into the membership arrangements of Lloyd’s and an understanding of the key services that the Corporation provides to the market, such as asset management and membership lifecycle. Everything revolves around a three-year plan, underpinned by a number of strategic projects, so project management skills, creativity, problem solving and adaptable communication styles will be crucial. Operational Risk Every day we deal with risks throughout the world, but what of the risks Lloyd’s itself faces? Our operational risk function works closely with both the Corporation and the managing agents in the market to ensure there are strong risk and control frameworks in place. We also make sure that Lloyd’s as a whole has co-ordinated business continuity plans. In other words, if an extreme event were to happen, such as terrorism or a flu epidemic, how would Lloyd’s cope?
A placement here will give you immediate exposure to operations within the Corporation and across the business. You’ll focus on maintaining and developing our risk framework, or reviewing and challenging the risk profiles of individual Lloyd’s syndicates. All of this will give you knowledge of insurance practices, project management and relationship management, and an understanding of all parts of the Corporation.
Ratings & Investor Relations This team manages Lloyd’s relationships with the ratings agencies, who determine Lloyd’s financial strength ratings, and investment analysts, who offer guidance on the financial status of both Lloyd’s itself and the listed companies who trade at Lloyd’s. These are relationships that are crucial in making us attractive to customers and investors.
As a graduate here, you might be involved in researching and analysing the characteristics and performance of other organisations similar to us. You could be looking at trends and issues, preparing comparative benchmarking information or undertaking research that will help the Corporation with its planning and decision making. A placement in this area will build your knowledge of the Lloyd’s market, your understanding of key issues affecting the industry, and a range of analytical, project management and communication skills.
Relationship Management This is about building up a broad ‘big picture’ view of how different departments within the Corporation interact with the businesses that operate in our market. Lloyd’s is a diverse organisation, so the way Risk Management works with the market will be vastly different from how Strategy and Business Planning might. It’s our job here to encourage good communication so that everyone is well informed and aware of each other’s strategy and so that we’re able to operate in a cohesive, customer-orientated fashion.
For that reason, there’s a variety of projects you might become involved in, from researching and summarising developments within Lloyd’s, through to promoting the use of our contact management system. It is key in this area to approach everything with the customer in mind, and communicate at all levels, both internally and externally. You’ll need to be able to listen, empathise and influence colleagues, and then build consensus.
Strategy & Business Planning As you might imagine, this is very much about looking to the future. We work to a rolling three-year plan, reviewed on a regular basis, to develop a clear strategy across many different parts of the Corporation and the market. We also then have to make sure that plan can be implemented.
As a graduate, you could be working as an analyst on some of our strategic projects, helping to develop business plans, track their progress and report on how they are being delivered. It’s an excellent place to learn about what goes on in different parts of Lloyd’s.
Underwriting Performance
This team is responsible for improving the performance of the market. They monitor the performance of each managing agent, to help them stay profitable for the long and short term and make sure that Lloyd’s high standards continue to be maintained.
A placement here will most likely involve you in this evaluation process: you’ll develop action plans for Managing Agents, review business strategies and make sure everything that’s put in place is achievable. It’s an excellent introduction to the insurance market, and will help you develop strong client relationships, as well as real commercial and business knowledge.
Last updated on 02 Sep 2008
