DELLINGER URGES MODERNISATION OF “ARCHAIC” LONDON MARKET

The London insurance market has been warned by a senior reinsurance executive that it is archaic and must modernise if it is to survive in the new century. Bob Dellinger, chief executive of GE Frankona Re, claimed that the market’s p/c players needed to automate their operations and replace outdated inefficient processes. He added that “we must combine process and technology improvements with London’s capacity, creativity and underwriting talent if London is to maintain its important role in the global insurance and reinsurance markets”. Commenting at a conference in London, Mr Dellinger argued that “underwriting processes and risk management need to be more science and less art. The increased exposures and the evolving capital structure in Lloyd’s will be more demanding and will require more discipline and rigour”. Mr Dellinger noted that “fundamentally, huge changes are required” and added that “we must change together, with a focus on customers and an increased use of technology, so that the London market continues to play a critical role in the global insurance market”.