My experience attending Lloyd's Europe Broker Academy

New Business Account Executive Kaeleigh Foster attended the Lloyd’s Europe Broker Academy in London in April, her first trip to Lloyd’s of London and Lloyd’s Europe in Brussels. Below she recounts her experience.

Day 1

On my first morning at the Lloyd’s Europe Broker Academy in London, I received a pass to Lloyd’s of London and was taken to the old library on the bottom floor. I had coffee with the other delegates and met with brokers from across Europe, all working in different areas of insurance.

Chief Market Development Officer Mark Cooper at Lloyd’s of London, launched this year’s academy and outlined what to expect over the next few days. The first speaker was Business Development Manager Hugh Governey, who provided an insight into the history of Lloyd’s, the London market, and its operational structure.

Afterwards, Senior Associate Alex Cook-Stephenson discussed Lloyd’s global licensing and regulatory environment. Seeing how many countries around the world do business with Lloyd’s and its global network was an invaluable insight into Lloyd’s underwriting results.

Business presentations followed by Diana Danalache, Pushkar Gadam, David Lawrence, and Iwan Röpcke on placing business at Lloyd’s, the number of cover holders, and the classification and types of insurance business. Then we had a networking lunch, which provided a great opportunity to discuss everything we learned in the morning session.

CEO Amelie Breitburd of Lloyd’s Europe and Head of Distribution Nick Donovan, kicked off the afternoon’s Q&A session. A tour of the iconic building ensued, where I really became aware of the vastness of the building and the history the building holds.

The last session of the day was with Cyber Advisor Simon West from Resilience who facilitated a lively workshop on cyber insurance and how best to mitigate cyber loss.
To finish off a fabulous first day, dinner was held in the Adam Room. The room was designed in 1763 by Scottish architect Robert Adam. The attention to detail in this room is really stunning and has hosted many famous guests, including Queen Elizabeth II.

Day 2

The morning of day 2 of the Lloyd’s Europe Broker Academy focused on classes of business, including presentations on cyber, D&O, property insurance and a session on claims management. Head of Cyber Underwriting Neil Arklie at Lloyd’s of London, and Associate Director Albert Lee at KPMG UK, gave a brilliant presentation on cyber insurance. I found this to be one of the highlights of the day.

We had a networking lunch with Lloyd’s Lab, the heart of innovation for insurance. Lloyd’s Lab is an award winning space dedicated to accelerating and fostering new products and solutions to fit the needs of customers around the world, including creating MGA Systems to cater to complex underwriting, lines of business, and distribution models.

The day ended with a panel discussion around emerging risks. Managing Director Richard Haines from Howden Broking Group led the panel in his presentation around building a sustainable future.

This opened questions about sustainability and the role that insurance has to play. That evening we got the Eurostar to Brussels to prepare for day 3.

Day 3

On day 3, Head of Strategy and Market Development Georgie Dimov of Lloyd’s Europe and Mark Cooper welcomed us into Lloyd’s Europe in Brussels.

The presentations that morning focused on multinational business, EU regulations, and the establishment and founding of Lloyd’s Europe. The afternoon discussion centred around whether Managing General Agents (MGAs) are a threat or an opportunity for brokers, concluding that we should look at MGAs as an opportunity, as they offer specialised knowledge of the local market and support on niche products. An
interactive session followed on how Lloyd’s can benefit us throughout our careers.

My overall experience was great. The Broker Academy was an outstanding programme to be a part of and provided a great opportunity for networking. It really showed me how vast and varied the industry is.

I would recommend this programme to anyone who gets the chance to attend. It was well organised and packed with information in all aspects. I am very grateful to have been a part of it.

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