Top insurers reject breakaway claim

Lloyd's most influential managing agents have denied they are dividing the market in a bid to resolve the issue of electronic trading.

The market's top six insurers, known as G6, have been working together since early 2005 to bring "greater efficiency" to the market.

But the group, made up of representatives from Amlin, Hiscox, Wellington, Beazley, Kiln and Catlin, has insisted that it has no intention to break away from the rest of the market.

Hiscox chief executive and deputy chairman of Lloyd's Bronek Masojada said: "Because the group accounts for 50% of Lloyd's capacity it is trying to drive a way forward and then share its findings with everyone else. It is tough enough for six to agree on something. Imagine what it would be like with 60."

The group's profile has been raised in recent weeks with the closure of Kinnect, Lloyd's £70m electronic trading platform.

But G6 chairman and Hiscox chief operating officer Sue Langley confirmed that the group has been meeting "informally" for some months to discuss the introduction of peer-to-peer messaging systems that would allow companies to interchange trading data on a one-to one basis.

Sources have suggested this would essentially be a simple "formatted email system" that could be implemented at very low cost.

Langley said: "G6 came together and decided that for brokers to do this we would need to agree a set of ACORD standards. As a group we need to drive forward what those standards should be so whoever wants to use the system in the market, can."

Alex Letts, chief executive of RI3K, said: "If anyone is enabling themselves to receive electronic messages it has got to be a very good thing for the market. The reality, is that there will be a number of ways of getting that done and peer-to-peer appears to be a step in the right direction."