Anthony Young, the new chief executive of the Association of Lloyd's Members (ALM), is the man who brought a touch of glasnost to the 300-year-old insurance market.
As current managing director of Lloyd's Members' Services, an independent subsidiary of Lloyd's Corporation, he persuaded a majority of syndicate managing agents which had yet to close their accounts to allow Names to vote on the decision.
Previously, the decision to close a year of account was left solely to managing agents.
Young said: "You could say that in a way I helped to bring glasnost to the managing agent community."
A ten-year veteran of Lloyd's, he intends to continue to ensure Names are treated fairly when he moves to the ALM.
His role is set to change from acting in a legal position as agent for almost 8,000 "resigned" Names who are mostly no longer required to pay new premiums into the market, to representing Names' interests to the wider Lloyd's community.
Young, who originally trained as a chartered accountant, said: "The ALM exists to make sure Names have correct information from syndicates to properly decide when a syndicate should close a year of account. This should be a straightforward exercise, but, can involve payment of a reinsurance premium to a third party. ALM watches this process very closely."
Young stressed he would follow the ALM's existing agenda of ensuring individual Names are able to trade in the market rather than investing as shareholders in an Integrated Lloyd's Vehicle.
"The most important issue for them is that they trade in the right syndicate and are treated equitably."
He went on to stress that if there is a change in the way individual Names are treated, this will have a significant impact on managing agents.
However, he is aware that trading conditions in Lloyd's remain difficult.
Young has been in regular contact with Names and understands their concerns from meetings of members' agents.
As a keen sportsman who won the prestigious Hurlingham Club's mixed doubles trophy last summer, Names can be sure Young will be fighting for their interests.
