New Report Looks at e-Trading Take-Up Across London Market

The uptake of e-trading platforms has been accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis in parallel with Lloyd’s Blueprint Two, according to InsTech London’s report, published recently.

The report ‘E-Trading Platforms: Challenges, Opportunities and Imperative – An InsTech London View’ focuses on the past, present, and future direction of e-trading platforms for developers, brokers and underwriters, and the wider global market.

Robin Merttens, Partner at InsTech London, and co-author of the report with 20 years’ experience of insurance e-trading platforms, said: “Despite the obvious challenges and tragedies, COVID-19 has acted as an accelerant of digital adoption and provided the much-needed momentum for e-trading that 20 years of cajoling and mandating could not achieve.”

Over the past year, PPL has seen almost a 100% increase in transactions with Whitespace the other main beneficiary, as brokers and underwriters have been forced by circumstances to trade electronically. Other new emerging platforms have also seen good uptake in activity, which is likely to last well beyond the pandemic. For instance, the Reinsurance market, with its own community, regulatory framework, and needs, is very active space and the report features analysis of what Riskbook, Relay, and Tremor provide to this community. The report also discusses how Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) has the potential to help the industry overcome many of its challenges, Insurewave, ChainThat and B3i being at the fore.

Merttens added: “The other big influence is Lloyd’s recent Blueprint Two initiative which has opened the doors to specialist third-party vendors, as long as they operate to agreed data standards and processes. This has greatly reduced the likelihood of a utility type solution, and encouraged private enterprise to provide compelling platform propositions. Hence the reason for keeping an eye on who is doing what.”

The report predicts further progress in 2021 and beyond because it is now possible to access data and develop technology at a cost that will encourage new entrants and existing platforms alike to keep providing and evolving solutions that solve long-standing problems for the London market and global specialty and reinsurance industry.