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
Corporate Communications
Delegated Authorities
Exposure Management
Human Resources
Information Technology Group
International Markets & Business Development
International Regulatory Affairs
Market Operations & North America
Market Services
Ratings & Investor Relations
Relationship Management
Risk 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.
Corporate communications
The Corporate Communications team comprises Lloyd's Press Office, 360 Risk Insight thought leadership programme, Marketing Communications (including campaign planning and delivery, digital communications, brand management, events), Internal Communications and Community Affairs teams.
Responsible for promoting Lloyd's brand, strategy and achievements to many different audiences and supporting international market communications and development activities, everything we do serves to promote and defend Lloyd's reputation and clearly position Lloyd's as the world's leading insurance market.
A placement in our team will show you how a corporate service supports the whole organisation, market participants and a wide range of other partners, stakeholders and opinion formers. Gaining insight into how key messages are formulated, how campaigns are developed and how digital communications are used to strengthen business relationships, you will gain hands-on experience and take ownership of distinct projects. A placement in the Community Affairs team driving Lloyd's environmental or volunteering programmes would give you the chance to help Lloyd's make a real difference to our local communities.
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. Finally, we are also responsible for monitoring reinsurance counterparty exposures, both current and historical, across the market.
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 to help them develop their business internationally. It is likely that you will have the opportunity to specialise in a particular territory or aspect of Lloyd's market development agenda. You could join the Lloyd's Market Intelligence unit, which is a small team of three analysts whose role is to inform the Corporation and the market with world class market intelligence covering around 70 territories worldwide.
This is a diverse and creative role in which analytical and communication skills are essential. You’ll need to be able to use technology to gather, sort, analyse, translate and, most importantly, communicate findings to peers and members of this market.
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.
Market Operations & North America
The team in Market Operations and North America focuses on initiatives to improve the Lloyd’s market's competitiveness, modernise ways of working and support customers in North America.
We aim to improve operational efficiencies through conducting numerous change projects. These projects aim to improve the service Lloyd’s insurers offer their clients and further reduce the cost to brokers of doing business here.
The Market Operations and North America Directorate is based in London, with a team of 25 people seeking to enable change and deliver benefit whilst also providing operational support to our colleagues in the USA & Canada.
On a placement here, you could be involved in a number of different projects, from helping to implement the Lloyd’s Exchange, to assisting with the Lloyd’s information project or taking part in determining the future of central services.
This is a fantastic opportunity to understand the markets change projects, to work with the market to bring about meaningful business change and to have a hand in revolutionising the way the market operates.
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.
Ratings & Investor Realtions
This team manages Lloyd’s relationships with the ratings agencies, who determine Lloyd’s financial strength ratings, and the wider investor community, including 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 promoting better understanding of the Lloyd’s market to key stakeholders, 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
Relationship Management at Lloyd's is about developing and maintaining effective commerical relationships within the market's key stakeholders by both providing a single point of stakeholder contact and co-ordinating the Corporation's, often diverse, points of interaction with these stakeholders. These include brokers, underwriting businesses and capital providers. In particular it is important Lloyd's various market facing departments to have a common and clear understanding of each underwriting business. Relationship Management's role internally is therefore to facilitate this understanding of each underwriting business and ensure a co-ordinated, customer oriented approach is employed in ensuring theses businesses meet and exceed Lloyd's franchise standards. In addition, Relationship Management also manages the process whereby new underwriting businesses are reviewed and ultimately approved to enter the Lloyd's market.
Risk Management
At Lloyd's we help people to deal with insurable risks throughout the world, but what of the risks Lloyd’s itself faces? Our Risk Management function works closely with both the Corporation and managing agents in the market to ensure there are strong frameworks in place to identify and manage the risks Lloyd's faces every day. These risks incorporate not only insurance activities, but also include wide-ranging risks associated with investments, strategy, systems and people. 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 pandemic, 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.
Strategy & Business Planning
As you might imagine, this is very much about looking to the future. During 2009 we are undertaking a Strategic Review, to shape our future direction and ensure we maintain our strong position and respond appropriately to changes in the global, industry and market environment. The strategic plan outlines major strategic initiatives across the Corporation and the Market. The plan works on a rolling basis, reviewed annually. We also then support the delivery of the plan through tracking and reporting and the escalation of any issues.
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 and gain a real understanding of trends and issues affecting the market and the wider insurance industry.
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.
