Lloyd's has said that director, finance and risk management Luke Savage will become acting chief executive until a successor for Nick Prettejohn is in place.
Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene said in a note to staff this morning that Prettejohn will remain as chief executive at Lloyd's until the end of the year and Savage will take on the role from 1 January 2006 until a replacement is announced.
At that point, the note said, Savage will revert to his full-time role as director for finance and risk management.
A Lloyd's spokeswoman said the search process has started.
"We'll be considering both internal and external candidates," she said.