Lloyd’s of London has decided to shut its underwriting floors for a day on Friday 13 March to test its coronavirus (Covid-19) contingency plan.

This would be the first time in the insurer’s 330-year history that the underwriting floors will be shut.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

The company said that it will utilise the opportunity to test its alternative trading protocols.

The decision to shut the underwriting floors comes after WHO officially classified the coronavirus epidemic as a pandemic.

The insurance giant will close four underwriting floors on of its 12-storey Lime Street building in London.

The underwriting floors, which house 50,000 employees, act as the hub for the world’s largest insurance market where brokers and insurers agree on deals face-to-face.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Lloyd’s in a press statement said: “Lloyd’s business continuity team has assessed the Lloyd’s market’s readiness to continue trading if the Underwriting Room needs to be closed at any point. Lloyd’s now proposes to stress test this.

“Lloyd’s has set up a dedicated contact point to provide our policyholders with assistance and to help them find the right person to confirm cover or process a claim.”

The company added that it will also utilise the time to deep clean the floors and all the public places in its building.

Recently, British insurance giant LV= paused the sale of new travel insurance due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Visit our Covid-19 microsite for the latest coronavirus news, analysis and updates

Follow the latest updates of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak on our timeline.