A resurgence in Name-based capital has contributed to an enormous £1bn increase in capacity at the Lloyd's insurance market.
Figures to be released this week show the market's underwriting stamp next year will reach £11bn for the first time since 1991.
Lloyd's has been boosted by a number of new underwriting ventures in recent months, including the launch of David Shipley and Richard Trubshaw's Managing Agency Partners. MAP's syndicate 2791 began writing new business on November 1, with a stamp of £135m, 45% of it supplied by Names and Namecos.
The £1bn increase is the largest since the mid-1990s when Lloyd's capacity grew from £8.4bn to £10.9bn.
It confirms Lloyd's continued recovery since overwhelming claims costs forced a radical restructuring of the market in 1992.
A Lloyd's spokesman said the capacity figures were provisional and based on the annual "coming into line" procedure, the deadline of which is due to expire in the next few days.
This is the process by which managing agents state their expected underwriting capacity limits for next year, the 2001 year of account, which begins on January 1.
With only a handful of syndicates left to declare, the Lloyd's spokesman said: "We anticipate capacity will be around £11bn compared to £10.04bn at the beginning of 2000."
The last time it reached £11bn was in 1991, however that year's figure is not adjusted for inflation.
The Lloyd's spokesman said the main reason for the increase was improving trading conditions.
"Capital providers have been attracted into the market as rates have hardened and other of the market's indicators begin to move in the right direction."
He added: "One of the largest capacity increases has been from private Names."
