Ri3K chief says Lloyd's must not resist change

The chief executive of Ri3K has sent a stark message to Lloyd's: stop resisting electronic progress and accept there is a "real crisis".

In the wake of Kinnect's demise last week, Alex Letts warned that Lloyd's could become the "rump of a global centre of commerce" if it did not take the opportunity to rebrand itself.

At a lecture at Lloyd's last week, Letts said: "There's no doubt that this has to be done quickly or it really will be too late and Lloyd's as a market will end up on the list of dead brands."

He described Lloyd's as the "perfect storm for a marketing horror show" with an ageing market, old product, poor service and expenses exceeding those of its nearest competitor - Bermuda.

But Letts, whose company operates an electronic trading platform for reinsurance, said that Lloyd's, with its powerful brand, history and heritage, potentially "has it all".

He told the audience: "Now add to these contract certainty and an electronic infrastructure and it becomes an unbeatable proposition.

"You all have the chance to prove that there are many years of profitable life yet in the old dog."

In a letter to customers last week Michael Dawson, Kinnect interim chairman, said despite the project's closure, Lloyd's remained committed to modernising the market and believed in the need for electronic data transfer, however it is achieved.