Lloyd's insurers Hiscox and Brockbank are poised to hold a joint culling exercise, slashing more than 200 firms from both their legal and adjusting panels.
Hiscox chief executive, Bronec Masojada confirmed the move this week, with a core list of approved law firms to be revealed by late summer.
He said: "We began looking at this last year after an analysis showing that we had over 100 legal relationships. We realised it was not economical either for the lawyers, or us."
Masojada said that, on a combined global basis, the two firms work with around 250 law firms while the two firms work with 70 loss adjusters.
Brockbank's solicitor attourney Paul Jaffe said that the two firms are seeking to work with 10 adjuster firms in the UK and 25 law firms.
The Hiscox chief executive played down the process, claiming that, for the most part, it will be a case of "natural evolution".
"We want to work with lawyers with the skills to deal with our claims, but we have not decided on the core list yet," he said.
Masojada said there is no conflict of interest in two insurers sharing the same panel of lawyers.
"Law firms is not an area where there is competitive advantage. This move will simply make sure we always use professional law firms," he said. Masojada added it did not signal any plans for Hiscox and Brockbank to create ties.
Originally Hiscox invited all Lloyd's managing agents to take part in the cull, but only Brockbank expressed an interest.
"We felt that if we worked together the combined amount of money we spent on lawyers would make it more attractive to make them want to be one of our core lawyers," said Masojada.
- If you are looking for relaxation, try a cup of coffee at the Hiscox Art Cafe. The insurer has fallen for the ancient Chinese art of feng shui – matching harmony with the land or building.
Chairman Robert Hiscox is well-known for his love of modern art, some of which can now be viewed in the newly improved feng shui'd Art Cafe.
As part of the feng shui makeover, corners have been rounded off and there is an abundance of black and blue colours which denote wealth and prosperity.
