What is Lloyd's?
The world's specialist insurance and reinsurance market
What is Lloyd's?
What is Lloyd'sOur unique insurance market has an unrivalled concentration of specialist underwriting expertise and every day, more than 50 leading insurance companies, over 200 registered Lloyd’s brokers and a global network of over 4,000 local coverholders operate in and bring business to the Lloyd’s market.
How the Lloyd's market works
The business written at Lloyd’s is brought to specialist syndicates, who price and underwrite risk, via brokers and coverholders. Much of the capital available at Lloyd’s is provided on a subscription basis – where Lloyd's underwriters join together as syndicates and where syndicates join together to underwrite risks and programmes. This kind of collaboration, combined with the choice, flexibility and financial certainty of the market, makes Lloyd’s the world’s leading insurance platform.
But in an unpredictable global climate, Lloyd’s underwriters must also rely on their experience and industry knowledge to cast light into the darkness ahead. Behind the Lloyd’s market is the Lloyd’s Corporation, not itself an insurer but an independent organisation and regulator that acts to protect and maintain the market's reputation and provides services and original research, reports and analysis to the industry’s knowledge base.
Under one globally trusted name, the Lloyd’s market and Lloyd’s Corporation work together to protect your interests, promote economic growth and underwrite human progress.
Pocket guide to Lloyd's
Read about the Lloyd’s market, history and building in the Pocket Guide: our market, our past, our home.
Lloyd’s is the world’s specialist insurance and reinsurance market. With expertise earned over centuries, Lloyd’s is the foundation of the insurance industry and the future of it. For over 330 years, people, businesses and communities have relied on the Lloyd’s market to protect what matters most and we are proud to continue that service today.
The Lloyd's market
The majority of business written at Lloyd’s is placed through brokers who facilitate the risk-transfer process between clients (policyholders) and underwriters.
The Corporation of Lloyd's
The Corporation oversees and supports the Lloyd’s market, ensuring it operates efficiently and retains its reputation as the market of choice for specialist insurance and reinsurance risk.
Stability and security
Lloyd’s financial strength derives from its unique capital structure, often referred to as the ‘Chain of Security’. It provides excellent financial security to policyholders and capital efficiency for members.