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Annual compliance

Coverholders provide required information to managing agents through the annual compliance process.

As per Market Bulletin Y5153 from 1st January 2018 Lloyd’s will be running a new annual compliance process for Coverholders. This will mean that for core compliance information at company level Lloyd’s will normally be the Coverholders first and only point of contact.

This change in Lloyd’s compliance oversight activities is a new initiative, managed by the Lloyd’s Policyholder and Third Party Oversight team. It is part of Lloyd’s drive to simplify the complex subscription market and allow the market and Coverholders to focus on their commercial relationship. The new oversight regime is also an important step forward in Lloyd’s risk-based approach to compliance, allowing us to have better understanding of all our Coverholders.

Under the new process Coverholders should no longer receive repetitive requests for the same types of generic core compliance information from different Lloyd’s carriers. Instead, Coverholders will only have to provide core information, such as the Professional Indemnity Certificate and Financial Statements once a year to Lloyd’s. Lloyd’s will then load that information onto ATLAS, the Coverholder system of record. All parties that have a  relationship with the Coverholder will be able to access the compliance information on ATLAS. This allows Carriers to complete any due diligence they need to and means that the Coverholder should no longer receive duplicate requests, reducing the administrative work.

Carriers will still need contract and product-specific compliance documentation. This process will not change that and Carriers might still contact the Coverholder for that information. However, if renewal timings permit, then Lloyd’s might be able to collate most of this information during the annual compliance process.

Completing the Annual Compliance Attestation

Lloyd’s will contact the Coverholder on an annual basis asking them to review their details on ATLAS. If any information is out-of-date Lloyd’s will ask the Coverholder to provide updated information. By signing the Coverholder Annual Attestation, Coverholders will be confirming that their details are correct and up-to-date.

Although Lloyd’s will initiate the process, it is the Coverholders responsibility to ensure the annual compliance has been completed on ATLAS. The Coverholder can do this one of two ways:

  • By direct upload to ATLAS: The Coverholder can complete the Annual Compliance task on Atlas. This will then be submitted to Lloyd’s who will review the information and confirm that ATLAS can be updated. When submitting the task please ensure you attach the front page of the Annual Compliance Form.
  • By Lloyd’s DAT liaising directly with you (or via your broker): The Coverholder would complete the paper version of the annual compliance questionnaire which Lloyd’s would then review and upload to ATLAS on their behalf.

The compliance attestation requires the attachment of a range of compliance documents which the Carriers will need to review before writing any binders. In order for Carriers to see these documents on Atlas, the security must be set as 'all companies that have a relationship with this Coverholder' for any documents which are uploaded.

Further details and guidance on how to complete the attestation form can be found at the bottom of this page. In particular, the guidance notes will provide a complete list of all the documents that Lloyd’s will request centrally.

Points to consider

  • Coverholders have an on-going obligation to inform Lloyd’s of all material changes to the information provided. Find out how to change a Coverholders details.
  • Many Coverholders do business with more than one Lloyd’s Broker or over multiple Binding Authorities, however the annual compliance needs to only be completed once a year per Coverholder.
  • The information entered on ATLAS is only visible to Carriers and Lloyd’s Brokers who have a relationship with that Coverholder. Coverholders can see exactly which organisations they have a relationship with on the “Relationships” section of their ATLAS record.
  • Each branch of a company which acts as a Coverholder needs to be separately approved. An annual compliance return is only required once per Coverholder entity each year.
  • Coverholders whose annual compliance information is out of date on ATLAS may be prevented from entering into new Binding Authorities until it is updated.
  • If a UK Coverholder has a CII MGA Chartered Status this may avoid some checks we would normally carry out during the OCO and Audit process. To find out more on the CII MGA Chartered please go to CII website.

For a Coverholder who is wishing to have access to ATLAS; this is available on request from the Delegated Authorities team.

Q: I have been notified that I need to complete an annual compliance task but when I click on the task it states that a change is already in process. Why am I locked out of the annual compliance task?

A: Starting an annual compliance will lock out the change for other Lloyd's Brokers or DDMAs with a relationship with the same Coverholder. Conversely, this means that if you are locked out of an annual compliance this will be because the Coverholder or another Broker is completing it. If you are expecting access to the annual compliance but are locked out please speak to your Coverholder who can see who is completing the annual compliance and liaise with them where necessary. Submission or cancellation of the annual compliance will unlock the task for other users. If another party does complete an annual compliance for the Coverholder it may be worth checking for changes or that the compliance has been completed to the standard you require.

Q: I have been notified that I need to complete an annual compliance task but when I click on it I get an error message, why is this?

A: If there is an on-going task, for example a PI updates task that hasn't been completed this will prevent all parties from being able to start and complete an annual compliance task. To resolve this all on-going tasks should either be deleted or completed. Once this has been done the annual compliance task can be started.

Q: I am the Coverholder and starting the annual compliance task myself, will I need to upload the completed questionnaire to the task?

A: Coverholders can complete the paper compliance questionnaire for their broker to upload onto ATLAS. The broker is then required to scan and attach this document when completing the compliance on ATLAS. When a Coverholder completes the annual compliance on ATLAS themselves they are not required to attach a paper form.

Q: Will I be contacted by Lloyd’s, my broker or a Managing Agent to complete my attestation?

A: Unless informed otherwise Lloyd’s will contact Coverholders directly regarding the completion of their annual compliance attestation. However, if it would be preferred that a Lloyd’s Broker or Managing Agent liaise with Lloyd’s on behalf of the Coverholder please confirm this via an email to coverholdercompliance@lloyds.com. When contacting Lloyd’s, please include the legal name and Atlas PIN of the Coverholder, as well as the name and contact information of the individual/company who will be taking responsibility for the completion of the Coverholder's compliance responsibilities.

Q: Why am I unable to see/complete some sections of the Attestation Form document?

A: Only those sections marked as ‘Yes’ can be amended. If a section on the attestation form is marked as ‘No’ for needing an update then the form is designed to prevent any alteration being made to the information contained within that section. If your information has changed please mark ‘Yes’ and then view the updates tab.

Q: Why has my Coverholder status been changed to “Postponed Deregistration?

A: As per the Coverholder Guidance Booklet if 65 days have passed beyond the date on which the Annual Compliance was due for completion and the relevant documents/updates still have yet to be provided, Lloyd’s will have conversations with the involved Coverholder, Lloyd’s Broker, and Managing Agents about placing the Coverholder in to postponed deregistration. The Coverholder will then be placed in to “Postponed Deregistration”. Please see the Coverholder Guidance Booklet for the process Lloyd’s will follow in contacting Coverholders before this final stage is reached.

Q: How can I find guidance on/ensure that a Coverholders compliance documentation meets Lloyd’s requirements?

A: The Coverholder Guidance Booklet includes the criteria which Lloyd’s will be following during its review of the various documents requested as part of the Attestation. Please see Appendix 1 of this document for this information.

Q: Why are requests being received for Professional Indemnity documents and Financial Statements, separate from Annual Compliance Attestation requests?

A: As the expiry dates of these documents commonly differ from that of Coverholders’ Annual Compliances, these documents will continue to be requested separately by Lloyd’s to ensure that Atlas remains as up-to-date as possible.

Q: Why have I been asked for documentation that is not relevant to my Coverholder entity?

A: If you do not believe one or more of the documents requested by Lloyd’s is relevant to your business, i.e. due to the size of the Coverholder or a difference in the requirements of the region the Coverholder is based in, then please contact coverholdercompliance@lloyds.com so that this can be looked into.

Q: Why have I received multiple attestation requests for my/a Coverholder entity?

A: Lloyd’s has endeavoured to combine the compliance requests for Coverholders with multiple offices that all share the same compliance information. However, if you believe further grouping is required for your entity then please contact Lloyd’s via email at coverholdercompliance@lloyds.com with the details and PINs of the offices you believe should be linked. This will allow us to review and find a  solution for your entity.