Lloyd's of London

Lloyd's of London

The 1986 Lloyd's building in Lime Street, London
Company type	Insurance and reinsurance market
Founded	c. 1689; 335 years ago (1689)
Founder	Edward Lloyd
Headquarters	London, United Kingdom
Key people	Bruce Carnegie-Brown, Chairman John Neal, CEO
Number of employees	2,000[1]
Website	www.lloyds.com

Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, United Kingdom. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body governed by the Lloyd's Act 1871 and subsequent Acts of Parliament. It operates as a partially-mutualised marketplace within which multiple financial backers, grouped in syndicates, come together to pool and spread risk. These underwriters, or "members", are a collection of both corporations and private individuals, the latter being traditionally known as "Names".

The business underwritten at Lloyd's is predominantly general insurance and reinsurance, although a small amount of term life insurance is written. The market has its roots in marine insurance and was founded by Edward Lloyd at his coffee-house on Tower Street in c. 1689. Today, it has a dedicated building on Lime Street which is Grade I listed. Traditionally business is transacted at each syndicate's "box" in the underwriting room within the building, with the policy document being known as a "slip",^[2] but in recent years it has become increasingly common for business to be conducted remotely and electronically.

The market's motto is Fidentia, Latin for "confidence",^[3] and it is closely associated with the Latin phrase uberrima fides, or "utmost good faith", representing the relationship between underwriters and brokers.^[2]

Having survived multiple scandals and significant challenges through the second half of the 20th century, most notably the asbestosis losses which engulfed the market, Lloyd's today promotes its strong financial "chain of security" available to promptly pay all valid claims. As of 31 December 2022 this chain consists of £72.1 billion of syndicate-level assets, £34.1bn of members' "funds at Lloyd's" and £6.1bn in a third mutual link which includes the "Central Fund" and which is under the control of the Council of Lloyd's.^[4]

In 2023 there were 78 syndicates managed by 51 "managing agencies" that collectively wrote £52.1bn of gross premiums on risks placed by 381 registered brokers. Around half of Lloyd's premiums emanate from North America and around one quarter from Europe. Direct insurance represents roughly two-thirds of the premiums written, mostly covering property and casualty (liability), while the remaining one-third was reinsurance.