The insurance industry is at a critical cross-roads, according to the chairman of Lloyd's.

Speaking to an audience of insurance professionals in Hong Kong, Lord Levene said that the industry, "is at a crossroads".

Levene added that the opening up of world insurance markets gave rise to new responsibilities.

Levene said: "Collectively, as an industry, we have a responsibility to get smarter about technology -about using it to model and understand risk, about harnessing it to revolutionise processing, about using it to deliver the insurance product more efficiently.

"The path we take will either drive the industry forward into a successful future, or leave us standing. Raising standards and increasing efficiency are two of our top priorities at Lloyd's. Our focus on them will be relentless."