The latest update from LIIBA and the LMA;
The Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), International Underwriting Association (IUA) and London & International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA) have today announced the launch of a new cross-market Fee Payment Enablement Scheme, designed to improve the speed and efficiency of payments to third-party surveyors and experts across the London market for pre-risk services.
Developed as a joint market initiative, the scheme addresses long-standing challenges in the settlement of expert fees. The scheme aims to:
- expedite the payment of surveyor and expert fees and clear back-year invoices;
- reduce administrative friction in obtaining underwriting share data;
- support the continued viability of expert survey services.
The scheme has been introduced in response to persistent operational delays in the payment of surveyor invoices, in part driven by fee collection agents being unable to access detailed information about individual underwriters’ shares on complex placements. These delays have created operational and financial pressures for surveyors, with implications for the continued provision of specialist expertise to the market.
To address this, the LMA established and led a cross-market working group, with engagement from Velonetic and supported by the IUA and LIIBA, to enable the controlled release of underwriting information to authorised fee collection agents, where submissions contain incomplete or incorrect data. This allows agents to validate and resubmit payment requests more efficiently, helping to reduce outstanding balances and accelerate settlement timelines.
The scheme is underpinned by contractual and process changes to the existing service agreement with Velonetic, enabling them to share key data for the purpose of facilitating expert fee payments. It also clarifies the roles and responsibilities across the process.
The initiative was successfully piloted in Q1 2026 with the LMA and IUA Joint Specie Committee and LIIBA’s Fine Art and Specie Committee. Participating collectors reported significant benefits – including one collector achieving a 75% reduction in outstanding invoice value – alongside improved consistency across fee payment submissions. The scheme also enables the resubmission of previously rejected submissions relating to aged invoices.
Joe Brace, Operations Director at the LMA, said: “This initiative demonstrates what can be achieved through genuine cross-market collaboration. By addressing the underlying data and process challenges that have historically slowed payments, we are helping to improve certainty for surveyors and ensure the London market continues to benefit from their expertise as a valued part of our complex ecosystem.”
Shazia Rennison, Committee Secretary of the Joint Specie Committee, added: “The pilot with the Joint Specie Committee has shown clear, measurable benefits, with faster settlement of fees and reduced administrative friction. This scheme provides a practical, scalable solution that supports both market efficiency and the resilience of critical third-party services.”
Kim Darrington, Director of Market Operations and Transformation at the IUA, said: “One of the great strengths of the London market is its depth of expertise provide by a wide selection of specialist insurance support services, but in order for this complex ecosystem to work efficiently, communication is vital. This new initiative will remove administration burdens and improve IUA members’ engagement with surveyors and other experts across our industry.”
The scheme is intended to be rolled out more widely across other markets where similar challenges exist, supporting a more consistent and efficient approach to the payment of expert fees.
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