Andrew Kendrick, chairman of Lloyd's Market Association, has responded to the letter from Dr Richard Ward to managing agents about contract documentation.
In the letter, the LMA said it has been carrying out an exercise to identify the Market's view on the future model for checking, producing and issuing contract documentation in the new era of contract certainty at inception.
Kendrick said that its conclusion matched the model described in the letter from Richard Ward and it supported the line that Lloyd's was taking.
The LMA said it favoured a single set of contract checks, agreed with the franchisor and carried out in advance of a line going down; flexibility for managing agents to carry these out themselves, or outsource; quality auditing of these checks by the franchisor; and the flexibility for underwriters and brokers to determine (and specify on the slip) the nature of and responsibility for issuing a single contract document.
It added that the model removes the exclusivity of Xchanging's role in checking and producing Lloyd's contract documents, whilst remaining compliant with existing Bye-laws.
The letter concluded that: "To support this position we are working on a new underwriter-owned market wordings repository which will provide, at the box, for underwriter and broker alike, a trusted source of tried and tested wordings and clauses in common use in the market.
The project, which has received the support of the LMA Board, is in implementation phase and the database should be operational this August.
Kendrick added: "We recognise that there is more to do to convert these plans, on which we all seem to be at one, into practical reality."
