Xchanging Unveils Modernization Technology Initiative for London Market

Global business processor Xchanging has unveiled its vision for the Lloyd’s and London market in a presentation to 120 senior market executives. Xchanging highlighted the “business imperative for London to become easier to deal with in order to remain competitive for a broad spectrum of carriers and brokers.” Members of its senior management team laid out their vision of the “transformation required to cement London’s standing as a leading global hub for insurance.”

The company stressed that if the “right choices” were made now, London had the potential “not only to achieve this, but to be far ahead of other markets within five years. Crucial to that would be improving the ease and speed of access for brokers and exploiting quality structured data to drive straight through processing through automation.”

To achieve those goals Xchanging urged a speeding up of the pace of change “to unlock the potential business that could flow into London. The prize achievable through modernization, it estimated, could be an additional 20 percent of business into London  and  the potential value that could be unlocked from an existing £36 billion [$57.2 billion] base, with an additional £30 million [$47.68 million] annual spend over five years, could result in an additional £7 billion [$11.12 billion] flowing annually through London.”

 

Xchanging also pointed out that the market “need not be funneled down a single route right now, and that the modernization required to attain these goals could be achieved in one of three different ways;  the start and end of the journey being identical whichever path is selected.”

Jim Sadler, CIO, Xchanging Insurance Services, noted: “We need to be brave and start this process now. This does not lead us down the expensive and perhaps untimely paths of the past, but rather allows us to make a start of the journey, while allowing businesses the flexibility to consider the next best steps to achieve the prize of the modernization of the London market.”

Xchanging singled out the following three options available to the market, depending on their own appetite for risk and cost, as follows:

• To transform policy and claims together

• Transform policy first

• More gradual incremental change

“The first two options are very transformational and therefore attract a higher level of risk,” Xchanging explained. However, it added that “in all three scenarios the preparatory work for the next 12-18 months is identical. Which choice the market eventually selects would depend on their appetite for risk; their view on the market’s ability to absorb process and cultural change over a period of time and their propensity to fund developments.”

Max Pell, Managing Director, UK Insurance Sector, stressed that it is “important not to make technology the limiting factor. Success truly depends on the market’s appetite for process and cultural change – we must not hide behind technology as a reason for failure.”

Xchanging pointed out that it is “well positioned to deliver the technology support required,” as it is already engaged in a number of  “mission critical technology solutions to the London Metal Exchange, national infrastructure to Gatwick Airport security services and leading edge infrastructure in the 4G markets with YTL.”

Source: Xchanging