Lloyd's of London*

Lloyd's is a unique insurance market. Almost anything can be insured, from fleets of ships and aircraft to supertankers and jumbo jets. While these risks are derived from the marine insurance for which Lloyd's is famous, risks of every conceivable description can be covered. Lloyd's underwriters deal with burglary cover, loss of profits through fire, and motor insurance, etc. One in six private motorists in Britain is covered by Lloyd's policies.

Lloyd's underwriters also have a reputation for insuring the more unusual risks such as injury to a concert pianist's hands or a winetaster's palate.

Lloyd's is not a company. It has no shareholders and there is no corporate liability for risks insured there. The underwriters, operating in syndicates, accept insurance risks for their personal profit or loss. They are liable to the full extent of their private fortunes to meet their insurance commitments.

Lloyd's underwriters do not have contact with members of the public. Business is taken to them by accredited insurance brokers who negotiate the best possible terms for their clients. The brokers may choose to place the business with one or other of the syndicates, or with an outside insurance company.

When Lloyd's brokers receive requests for insurance cover, they make out 'slips' – folded sheets of paper setting out the risks to be covered. They then approach one of the underwriters expert in the particular type of cover. The premium rate is then negotiated and, if the broker thinks the rate might be better, a second underwriter will be approached.

An underwriter who accepts the contract signs the slip thereby taking a proportion of the risk for the syndicate. Having established the premium rate for the risk, and armed with this 'lead', the broker will now approach other syndicates to get their acceptance for the remaining portion of the business. As each underwriter accepts the business on behalf of a syndicate the slip is signed, indicating the percentage of the risk the syndicate is prepared to cover.

The relationship between broker and underwriter is based on good faith, and the underwriter knows that the broker will have disclosed all the material facts honestly and fairly. In return the underwriter will assume liability for claims as soon as the signature has been added.

The history of Lloyd's goes back to the late seventeenth century. Edward Lloyd encouraged ships' captains and merchants to meet in his coffee house, and out of their conversations arrangements were made to insure their ships and cargoes.

Your task

Complete each of the following sentences with one of the words listed below:

1. Once a Lloyd's underwriter has added a.............................. to the «slip» the contract is bound to be honoured.

2. The relationship between the..............................and the underwriter is based on good faith.

3. Both ships and..............................can be insured at Lloyd's.

4. The underwriter accepts the..............................on behalf of the syndicate.

5. Each syndicate will accept an agreed..............................of the risk.

6. The brokers will try to get..............................for their clients at the lowest possible premiums.

7. The..............................of motorists in Britain are covered by a Lloyd's insurance policy.

8. There is no limit to the extent of the underwriters' liability to meet their..............................under the policy.

The missing words: cargoes, majority, proportion, broker, cover, commitment, risk, signature.

Section N. Telephone conversation

Act as an interpreter.

Julie Shaw is an insurance executive in the fire insurance department of Coldstream Insurance plc. She is presently dealing with a 'phone call from Harry Cartwright, a Dorset farmer whose outbuildings were damaged by fire last night. His barn was gutted and two of his three wooden cowsheds were badly damaged.

JULIE:	Fire department.
HARRY:	I'd like to speak to someone about a fire I had last night at my farm.
JULIE:	Do you have a policy with Coldstream?
HARRY:	I do. That's why I'm phoning you now.
JULIE:	Alright, sir. Could you give me the number of the policy?
HARRY:	It's FM 768543 B88.
JULIE:	Can you give me a moment while I look up your records on the computer... Are you Mr Cartwright... Harold Cartwright at Crane Farm, Swyre's Head?
HARRY:	That's right.
JULIE:	You say you've had a fire. Can you tell me what happened?
HARRY:	Well, we woke up in the night to find the barn blazing. We managed to get the cattle out of the cowsheds, then the fire spread.
JULIE:	This policy doesn't cover the livestock.
HARRY:	I realise that.
JULIE:	Do you have the policy in front of you?
HARRY:	Yes.
JULIE:	Can you refer to Schedule One?
HARRY:	Yes, yes, I'm looking at it.
JULIE:	Can you confirm that the items we're referring to are the outbuildings numbered one to four?
HARRY:	That's right. Only we managed to save the cowshed... number three on the schedule.
JULIE:	No damage?
HARRY:	Well, it's badly scorched.
JULIE:	Do you know how the fire started Mr Cartwright?
HARRY:	Not really. It's an open barn and with this warm dry weather, it can get very hot. It could have been internal combustion. But we've had a fire-raiser in the area. Old Joe Conned lost a couple of haystacks last month ... and that was deliberate.
JULIE:	If there's any question of arson, the police will have to be notified.
HARRY:	I realise that... but there's no way I can tell.
JULIE:	Alright. I'll send you a claim form right away. Incidentally, I'm Julie Shaw. If you have any difficulties in completing the claim form let me know.
HARRY:	Thanks for your help. Goodbye.
JULIE:	Goodbye Mr Cartwright.

Your task

Julie Shaw is required to make a brief note (in the form of a memorandum) of any telephone calls she deals with. Play the role of Julie and make out the memorandum for her.

Section O. Correspondence

Following on from the previous telephone conversation (see Exercise N), Julie Shaw has now sent a brief letter to the policy holder together with an accompanying claim. You are asked to complete the claim form from the following information:

Crane Farm consists of a farmhouse and four outbuildings, all of which are covered by Coldstream Insurance plc Policy No. FM 768543 B88. The premium of £4,000, due on 1st January last was paid on that date and the amount of cover is £300,000 for the buildings and £50,000 for farm equipment and machinery. The sole owner of the farm is Harold Cartwright.

Harry's wife woke him in the early hours of Friday last because of sounds of distress coming from the cowsheds. When they looked through the window they saw the barn on fire. Even as they watched the blaze was spreading to the cowsheds and they rushed downstairs with their son and daughter to see what could be done.

While Harry's wife and daughter led the dairy cattle to safety, he and his son concentrated on putting out the fire in two of the cowsheds.

Two young calves were unfortunately killed before they could be helped. The roof of one of the cowsheds was totally destroyed, while the walls of both buildings were badly damaged. They gave up any attempt to save the barn which was razed to the ground before the fire engines arrived.

In one of the cowsheds, a milking machine, which cost £1,200 when it was purchased eighteen months ago, was severely damaged.