The world-famous London insurance marketplace, based in the Richard Rogers building on Lime Street, where specialist insurers and brokers come together to cover unusual and complex risks.
Lloyd's of London is not a single insurance company. It is a marketplace where groups of investors, called syndicates, come together to take on risks that are large, unusual or hard to price. Brokers bring the risks, underwriters at the syndicates decide whether and how to cover them, and the Corporation of Lloyd's sets the rules, supervises the market and provides central services. Lloyd's describes itself as the world's largest specialist insurance marketplace.
On its own site Lloyd's says it "brings together the world's leading risk takers to advance global progress". It also describes a "high-performance culture" that aims to attract and support talented people from all backgrounds, and it encourages colleagues to build new skills. We did not find a longer formal list of values on the pages we read, so ask about this when you research the organisation.
The story starts in a London coffee house. Edward Lloyd's coffee house on Tower Street, first mentioned in the London Gazette in 1688, became a meeting place for sailors, merchants and people who insured ships. The Society of Lloyd's was formed in 1773, and Acts of Parliament in 1871 and 1911 gave the market its legal footing. The market later moved to Leadenhall Street in 1928 and Lime Street in 1958. The present building on Lime Street was designed by the architect Richard Rogers and opened in 1986. It is a listed building, and its stainless-steel pipes and glass make it one of the best-known landmarks in the City of London.
The market is run through a Council, with working members, external members and members nominated with the approval of the Governor of the Bank of England. It is regulated in the UK by the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. Around the market sit managing agents who run the syndicates, brokers who place the business, and coverholders, which are local firms with permission to write policies for Lloyd's. The Corporation also runs Lloyd's Lab, which includes a 10-week InsurTech Accelerator, and Lloyd's Academy, a learning platform for risk professionals. Its history includes difficult chapters, and in 2020 it publicly apologised for its role in the slave trade.
The Corporation of Lloyd's employs people in jobs you may not expect from an insurance market, such as market oversight and regulation, data and technology, communications, finance, events, building and facilities, and innovation. Because most of the underwriting is done by firms inside the market rather than by Lloyd's itself, many careers connected to Lloyd's are with those syndicates and managing agents, several of which are covered on this site. Lloyd's own site also points to routes for both early-career and experienced people.
Website: www.lloyds.com
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