Lloyd's widens its licensing agreement with ISO for underwriting and claims products.
Lloyd's has renewed its licensing agreement with Insurance Services Office, Inc. (ISO) - significantly expanding the range of underwriting and claims products and services it can use in the US market.
Lloyd's is the world's second largest commercial insurer and sixth largest reinsurance group, with a capacity to accept insurance premiums of more than $26.7bn in 2004.
Individual underwriters at Lloyd's will, for the first time, be permitted to use ISO loss costs (projections of future claims) for lines of insurance serviced by ISO.
Lloyd's underwriters have been using ISO standardised policy language and other services since the initial agreement was signed in January 2000.
Included in the new agreement are ISO's Commercial Umbrella programme and Public Protection Classifications, used to measure communities' fire suppression capabilities.
Additionally, participating Lloyd's underwriters will be able to use loss estimates from ISO's Property Claim Services (PCS) unit as a trigger for Insured Loss Warranties (ILW) covering catastrophic losses from extreme events, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes and terrorism. Under such warranties, a reinsurer is liable for payment if insured losses for the catastrophic event exceed a specified amount.
ISO chairman, president and chief executive Frank J. Coyne announced: "We're pleased Lloyd's underwriters appreciate the value of our products and services. Since it began nearly four years ago, this strategic agreement remains the basis for building an even broader relationship with the London market."
Chairman of Lloyd's Market Association and Hiscox director Robert Childs said: "This is an important development in the information available to Lloyd's underwriters, and we are delighted to strengthen our relationship with ISO."
Director of worldwide markets at Lloyd's Julian James added: "This agreement with ISO is further evidence of Lloyd's commitment to the US market, which is the largest single source of business to Lloyd's, worth more than $8.2bn a year."
