Lloyd’s international offices provide the Market with access to the World. We follow a rep to discover what constitutes a typical day at the office.

David Battman became Managing Director of Lloyd’s Spain in 2004 after a spell in Asia. Before joining Lloyd’s in 1998, David was Head of European Affairs for a Brussels-based public affairs consultancy. He was born in Paraguay, and is fluent in Spanish.

9.00 am – Review the financial press, read emails, and then meet with rest of Lloyd’s Spain team to run through tasks and activities for the day ahead.

9.30 am – Welcome visiting Lloyd´s underwriters who are in Madrid for two days and using Lloyd’s office as their base for meetings. ‘Hot-desk’ space, in the form of fully wired-up workstations, has been set aside in the office for visitors from the market.

10.00 am – Host visit to the office from a Spanish broker keen to gain access to the Lloyd’s market. Such visits are crucial. They give us the opportunity to instil confidence by showing Lloyd’s now has a permanent presence in Spain, which is particularly important in order to dispel fears of having to go abroad in the event of a complaint or legal issue. If necessary, we can help the Spanish broker identify syndicates and Lloyd’s brokers who may be interested in working with them.

11.00 am – Accompany our in-house Legal Director, Beatriz Ramirez, to a meeting with the Spanish regulator, the DGS, to discuss the implications for Spain’s implementation of the new EU intermediary directive. Lloyd’s Madrid office is responsible for managing the relationship with Spanish and Portuguese authorities.

12.00 pm – Conference call with colleagues in Lloyd’s Worldwide Markets, to give feedback from the regulators‘ meeting, and consider how best to pass on the information to Lloyd´s franchisees.

2.00 pm – People eat late in Spain! Host a lunch meeting we have arranged for visiting Lloyd’s underwriters and a panel of Spanish risk managers.

4.00 pm – Answer an enquiry from Spain’s financial media, after discussion with Lloyd’s central media relations team.

5.00 pm – Finalise a presentation to be given to a business conference in Barcelona tomorrow. Lloyd’s provides a platform for its franchisees throughout the Iberian peninsula, not just in Madrid.

6.00 pm – Call the reinsurance director of a Spanish cedant to confirm a visit by Lloyd’s Spain and London-based Lloyd’s representatives, as part of Lloyd’s cedant relationship programme. Agree content of presentation, which will detail Lloyd´s strategy, structure, key financials and ratings. As the head of Lloyd´s representative office, it is important to attend the meetings to supplement London-based colleagues’ technical knowledge with local insight.

6.30 pm – Respond to enquiries from Spanish/Portuguese companies seeking insurance. It is our job to act as a filter, steering sensible enquiries towards Lloyd’s brokers and underwriters who are best placed to respond. As a result of one such referral, a major new energy account was placed into the Lloyd´s market this year. Lloyd’s international offices are a valuable resource for the Lloyd’s market as they offer a worldwide network of ambassadors. They maintain close relationships with local brokers, insurers, regulatory authorities and industry associations, to provide local commercial knowledge and market information.

Spanish market in brief

Total premium from the Spanish non-life market continues to develop strongly – 2004 produced double digit growth for the sixth consecutive year. Premium growth was driven in large part by three classes: Liability (annual growth of 22%), Personal Accident (13%), and Property (11%). Lloyd’s underwriters continue to be important players in the liability sector – premium income from this class has roughly doubled since 2001 to EUR 1.6bn. The size of the construction & engineering insurance market decreased in 2004, following four years of exceptional growth. From a results perspective, the marine, aviation and transit sector produced an excellent return with loss ratios averaging just 45%.

Lloyd’s has representative offices in the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Malta, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US (Illinois, Kentucky, New York, US Virgin Islands), Zimbabwe