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Delegated Authority Guidance

Code of Practice

The Code provides an introduction to delegated underwriting in the Lloyd’s market and sets out Lloyd’s expectations of managing agents when delegating underwriting authority to a coverholder (under a binding authority agreement) or another managing agent (under a line slip or consortium arrangement).

This Code is made pursuant to Paragraph 31 of the Underwriting Byelaw.

This latest Code applies with effect from September 2017 and updates and replaces the version issued in March 2015.

Letter of Authority

Lloyd’s have collaborated with the LMA to produce a template that can be utilized by the market, where confirmation that a specific binding authority is in place, is required. This template is referred to as a ‘Letter of authority’.

The template is available for all managing agents however it is appreciated that some managing agents may already have their own template which can still be utilized. To drive consistency within the market, the letter of authority template can be found below. For Lloyd’s Europe, there is a separate Letter of Authority template which can also be found below.

Retrospective endorsement guidance

Retrospective endorsements are endorsements where the date inserted for when the endorsement takes effect is prior to the date that there is full and final agreement of the terms, as evidenced by all the parties signing the endorsement.

Lloyd’s has put together some guidance which outlines best practice as well as the process for administering these types of endorsements for binding authority contracts. We recommend managing agents familiarise themselves with this guidance, the new process we will be rolling out for 2024. Please note that the new process for registering retrospective endorsements on DCOM must be followed by all managing agents from 1st January 2024.