The Serious Fraud Office's investigation into policies naming Lloyd's is the latest fiasco to strike the 300-year-old market.
In July, at the peak of the holiday period, the Management Company (London) went into liquidation. It had issued policies bearing the Lloyd's name without authority and up to 150,000 people were thought to have been left without travel cover
At the time, Lloyd's paid for claims from its piggy bank, the Central Fund, and is now attempting to retrieve its costs through yet more litigation.
Now a similar tale is being told. Last week, Lloyd's issued a warning to all persons and companies holding insurance policies issued by CFT Group Insurance Services.
It emerged policies were issued citing Lloyd's as the insurer, even though cover had not been arranged.
Now policyholders are being advised to "take appropriate action to protect their interests", for instance purchasing alternative cover.
There is an important question to be asked. Why didn't Lloyd's learn its lesson four months ago and crack down on bogus policies?
Lloyd's claims it is powerless to prevent another attack and, on this occasion, is refusing to pay out for CFT claims. But this means in theory any person can still create a website and sell cover fraudulently.
If Lloyd's wants to keep its reputation as a market that will always pay out for claims, even if an insurer goes into liquidation, one thing is for sure - it cannot allow others to take its name in vain.
