The Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) has released a new report warning that many firms may be overestimating the extent of their true leadership roles.
The report, Lead and Follow in the Lloyd's and London Market: Beyond the Binary, drew on 41 market interviews and a survey of 60 insurers and brokers. It concluded that simple leader-follower labels no longer reflect how business is actually traded and serviced. Instead, the LMA set out a six-segment strategic spectrum aimed at helping firms identify their real position on the lead-follow spectrum and to align strategy and investment with that reality.
Perception vs. reality on "true leadership"
A central theme discussed in the report is the gap between perception and practice. Survey respondents said they lead about 40% of their gross written premium but the report's analysis suggests a substantial proportion of that is not "true leadership" in the sense of setting terms, structuring programmes and owning the client relationship. A meaningful share represents technical or administrative leading where the real commercial leadership may sit elsewhere.
The LMA said this misalignment risks carriers under‑investing in capabilities required for genuine leadership, mispricing their expense base and overestimating the distinctiveness of their market proposition.
Shifting expectations of lead underwriters
The report also examined how expectations of lead underwriters are changing. According to the respondents, buyers now place particular importance on pricing sophistication, technical underwriting and claims expertise, alongside autonomy, flexibility and speed of response.
Data from the report suggested the decline in the era of the "big name" underwriter, with leadership increasingly viewed as an institutional attribute grounded in underwriting and claims capability, data and process, rather than the reputation of a single individual. This could mean that more importance is now being placed on broader skills mix and consistent decision-making across portfolios.
Delegation, regulation and cost pressure
The study also identified growing interest in delegating more activity to leaders to reduce duplication and improve consistency across placements.
Market participants saw claims handling, claims adjudication and contract certainty checking as the most likely areas to be delegated. There is also appetite to move more underwriting, pricing and client engagement tasks towards leaders but the respondents acknowledged that the current regulatory environment makes this difficult and that delegating regulatory and compliance responsibilities at scale would require changes to existing rules.
Looking ahead, 65% of those surveyed expect the number of lead underwriters in the market to consolidate over the next five to 10 years. Respondents cited a growing bifurcation between lead and follow strategies and the higher operating costs associated with leading, including deeper investment in underwriting, analytics, claims and distribution. Those costs, the report suggested, risk creating a barrier to entry for would‑be challengers, while ongoing carrier M&A is expected to concentrate leadership further.
LMA and AEGIS London on the future of leadership
"The aim of this report is to provide an objective examination of the diversifying roles across the lead-follow spectrum, and to provide underwriting teams with the clarity and language they need to have honest conversations about where they are today - and where they want to be tomorrow," said Sheila Cameron (pictured), chief executive officer at the LMA.
Responding to the publication, AEGIS London chief underwriting officer Matthew Yeldham said the report is a "timely contribution" to an important debate on underwriting processes in the Lloyd's and the London market.
“The London Market’s standing as a global centre for insuring complex risk depends on its ability to combine underwriting excellence with thoughtful innovation. For leading syndicates, the responsibility is to continue setting the standard for true lead underwriting, while embracing new ways of trading that support – rather than dilute – that expertise," Yeldham said. "Getting the balance right will be critical to the market’s success over the next decade.”
