Frequently asked questions

We’re looking for solutions that have the potential to create true commercial value for the Lloyd’s market. Whether by reducing acquisition expenses, helping Lloyd’s market businesses make better underwriting decisions, making operations more efficient or improving the policyholder experience, we want to see ideas that can have a real impact on market performance.

Companies, entrepreneurs and start-ups from across the globe who are prepared to develop their products and services in collaboration with Lloyd’s and the Lloyd’s market.

Lloyd’s Lab is not exclusively for insurance-focused ventures. We’re also interested in working with products and services from outside of insurance that could have applications in the industry. For example, if you have a great data analytics platform, you could work with us to see how it could help us to understand new risks.

We’re open to considering proposals from ventures at any stage of their development and will work to tailor the activities you’re invited to take part in to your needs. If you feel that your business and/or products/platforms/processes would benefit from a collaboration with Lloyd’s then we’d love to hear from you.

The Lab Accelerator programme is for those looking to develop or further their products/platforms/processes with the help of experienced market professionals. The Lloyd’s Product Launchpad is for businesses seeking capacity for products. Businesses pitch their products to a panel of innovation underwriters who can then follow up individually.

No.

No, we’re not asking you to sign an exclusivity agreement. We want to build a relationship based on trust and, if we complement each other, we hope that we’ll be your first port of call when you need feedback on your new products/platforms/processes. Please be aware that we will need you to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and participation agreement before you access the Lab, which you will need to adhere to even when working with third parties, whether in the insurance sector or otherwise.

If you are invited to join Lloyd’s Lab, we will need you to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before accessing the Lab – this requires us to not disclose your confidential information and requires you to do the same for us. However, during the application process, neither party will have signed the NDA, so please only share with us information about your product/platform/process or business that you consider not to be confidential/to be public domain.

We run a programme every six months or so and you can find the latest timeline on the homepage.

Once you’ve submitted your details via the application form, a member of our team will review your responses to confirm your suitability for the programme. All applications will then go through a shortlisting process leading up to Pitch Day where up to 24 teams may be invited. If invited, you’ll meet the Lloyd’s Lab team, give a short presentation and take part in a Q&A session. If we believe your business could be a good fit for the programme, we’ll extend you an offer to participate shortly after the Pitch Day.

You must be at least 18 years old to apply to Lloyd’s Lab.

Of course! Companies, entrepreneurs, and start-ups from across the globe are encouraged to apply. Bear in mind that you may need a visa to participate in activities in the UK.

If you would like to get in contact with the Lab, please email us at lloydslab@lloyds.com

Applications are all reviewed by multiple people against our scoring criteria:

Team - Do they have the skills and commitment they would need to excel at what they claim to do?
Product - Does the product solve a problem or create opportunities for the Lloyd’s market? Do they have a specific use-case, rather than being tech in search of a problem?
Programme - Would their plan for the programme work at the Lloyd’s Lab; does it hinge on having data we know is highly unlikely to be available? Are they applying just for the sales opportunity?

Applications which are written clearly will tend to do better as it is easier for the team to understand the opportunity. Including a short video (less than 5 minutes), and/or pitch deck (broadly 10 or fewer slides) is normally beneficial.

Our programme is a ten week accelerator which we usually run twice a year.

We generally target 10-12 companies per cohort, but this number is based on the quality of applications and which companies will benefit from being in the cohort together.

We like to keep the cohorts intimate to foster cohort cohesion and good relationships with mentors.

Market mentors:

We have built a large pool of over 100 mentors from across the Lloyd’s market.

Many of these will attend pitch day, where they vote on the InsurTechs and indicate which they would be interested in mentoring.

Once the votes are counted and the teams have been picked, the Lloyd’s Lab team will contact these mentors and confirm their selection. We also contact others from across the market, and help them to decide which team would be best for them.

In other words, the mentors decide themselves which teams they’d like to mentor, ensuring they end up working with teams best suited to their experience and interests.

External mentors:

We also have what we call ‘external’ mentors. These are people who are typically outside the Lloyd’s market, but have had significant relevant experience, such has founding and successfully exiting their own Tech start-up, and are a valued part of the mentoring programme.

We introduce these external mentors to the InsurTechs and allow them to decide themselves which relationships are worth progressing.

Mentors are not allocated, but decide themselves which teams they would like to mentor.

We typically end up with between 3-8 mentors with each InsurTech, all from different insurers within the Lloyd’s market.