Lloyd's and Specialty - Oxbow Partners

The size and complexity of the global specialty market poses unique opportunities and challenges to insurers and brokers.

Many dynamics are favourable to the market. For example, new opportunities are emerging through cyber, supporting the transition to net zero and new service-led propositions. Executives need to ensure they are focused on the right trends and have the right technology and operating models in place to be successful. Underwriter workbenches are often central to companies’ efforts to be nimble, scalable and data led.

However, there is also great uncertainty in this high volatility segment. Risks such as cyber and climate continue to evolve and are hard to quantify. Inflation is causing challenges to both claims and operating cost. The Lloyd’s market’s multi-year modernisation programme continues to evolve.

Whilst the ‘must-win’ battles are clear for many executive teams, how to win is less obvious. Our experts help executives find the right balance between driving short-term underwriting performance and transforming their business for long-term success.

WE CONNECT C-SUITE DECISION-MAKING WITH PRACTICAL, STRATEGY-DRIVEN CHANGE

Strategy: We help management teams understand their options and trade-offs and make robust decisions.

Operations: We use our industry expertise to build detailed, bespoke operating models and processes aligned to the specific features of your strategy.

Technology: We recognise that technology is a fundamental shaper and enabler of modern strategy and support with architecture design and vendor selection.

Strategic transformation: We help organisations transform by connecting strategy to delivery, ensuring that delivery both aligns to strategy and shapes it.

WHAT WE DO IN LLOYD'S & SPECIALTY

Strategy

We help executive teams understand and prioritise opportunities and threats, find their “edge” and communicate compellingly to their stakeholders.
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Operations

We help executive teams build robust, scalable businesses and operating models, covering organisation design, key processes and governance.
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Technology

We help business executives understand how technology can boost their productivity, and technology executives build and deliver technology strategies and roadmaps aligned to strategic imperatives as well as helping them select vendors.
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Transformation

We help executive teams execute on their priorities by supporting them through a continuous cycle of strategic decision-making and detailed design and delivery.
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M&A

We help investors and corporates with commercial, operational and technology due diligence, deal preparation and execution, and post merger integration.
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OUR LATEST INSIGHTS

Mastering the Matrix

Building the underwriting team of the future

London Market Cycles

The hard market – how long will it last?

Underwriter Workbenches: Decoding the vendor landscape

Discover which vendors could support you build your underwriter workbench

More insights

EXAMPLE ENGAGEMENTS

Supporting a carrier become truly data and digital first

A leading London Market syndicate wanted to put data and digital at the core of its strategy and operations. We worked with the underwriting teams and partnered with a systems integration consultancy to implement end-to-end underwriting infrastructure and processes organised around a new underwriter workbench.

Developed a follow-only strategy

A leading specialty (re)insurer wanted to define their approach to follow-only. We worked with the CEO and executive team to assess and prioritise business model options and develop a robust proposal for their board.

Developed a digital readiness operating model

A leading Lloyd’s syndicate wanted to evolve its operating model to respond to emerging digital trends and market initiatives. We helped our client develop a pragmatic approach to digitise its existing operating model, taking a phased approach to a multi-year roadmap.

Supported senior leadership align on an ESG ambition

Our client, the leadership team of a Lloyd’s syndicate, had significantly diverging views on the ESG ambition. We worked with the team through a series of 1:1 discussions, workshops and executive meetings to help them find common ground and implement a strategic framework.

Developed a transformation plan for a London Market insurer’s claims team

Our client, a global insurer with a Lloyd’s presence, had significantly underinvested in their claims capability over the last decade. We worked with the Group COO to develop a future operating model that delivered both efficiency and greater effectiveness. Our recommendation included implementation of various digital technologies as well as team restructuring and right-sizing.

Selected technology vendors to support an underwriting transformation

A global specialty (re)insurer required help to select technology vendors to support the transformation of underwriting processes. Using Magellan and our proprietary 3-step approach, we helped the team shortlist and select a group of document ingestion and underwriting workbench vendors.

Working with Oxbow Partners felt like a partnership. The team are adept at balancing strategic thinking with a clear understanding of the content and can engage a senior team to gain consensus on a complex topic

Sean McGovern, CEO AXA XL UK & Lloyd’s

RELEVANT PRODUCTS

Magellan

Magellan is our insurance technology navigator. Magellan contains detailed information on over 4,000 technology vendors targeting the global (re)insurance market. Magellan is designed to help business and technology professionals find the right short-list of companies to help with their specific technology requirements. We offer both a self-service subscription and a ‘Curated Search’ service delivered by our dedicated team of experts.
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Lead contact

Greg Brown, Partner

Greg leads engagements on digital, operational, and technology strategy and transformation. He spends most of his time in the Lloyd’s and London Market and European retail insurance.

Graduating with a degree in Engineering and Computer Science, Greg has a strong technical background which allows him to give his clients confidence in the feasibility of their strategic choices. CEOs often rely on Greg to look through the hype and advise them on the relevance of technical trends. Topics where Greg’s range of experience comes together include digitisation in the London Market and the impact of Lloyd’s Blueprint 2, strategic choices available to syndicates around the bifurcation of lead/follow, and using technology as a vehicle to drive underwriting transformation.

Greg is a regular commentator on transformation and digital topic, and often speaks at industry events. He has authored many pieces on the Oxbow Partners blog.

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