The Lloyd's Market Association and Lloyd's of London have jointly convened the first Underwriting Talent Summit, bringing together 175 chief executive officers, chief underwriting officers, and senior female underwriters from managing agents.
The event centres on the theme "Ring the Bell," with organisers setting out to increase the pipeline of female underwriters throughout the market.
The summit addresses a disparity between diversity progress in the broader insurance sector and the situation within underwriting roles. According to the 2025 Lloyd's Market Policies and Practices survey, whilst overall workforce diversity has advanced, underwriting presents a different picture.
Among the underwriting population of just over 7,500 professionals, women represent 38% and 11% are ethnically diverse, demonstrating development at junior levels. However, progression to senior positions remains constrained. Female representation in chief underwriting officer roles stands at 18%, with women comprising just 19% of head of or senior line underwriter positions.
Read more: Driving gender balance in insurance
This gap mirrors broader patterns in financial services, where women hold only one in six executive board positions, contrasting sharply with non-executive roles where over 60% of FTSE 350 companies are achieving or approaching the 40% women's representation target by the end of 2025.
The talent pipeline shows signs of contraction. Only 15% of women are expected to be prepared for leadership roles within the next 0-2 years, representing a decline of three percentage points from the previous year, with 25% projected in the three-five year timeframe.
The LMA conducted a survey of 128 female underwriters, chief executives, and chief underwriting officers to identify barriers to advancement. Fifty-two per cent (52%) cited "a male-dominated leadership environment leading to a lack of inclusivity" as the primary obstacle, whilst 42% highlighted work-life balance difficulties and 27% cited caring costs.
The regulatory landscape underscores the importance of such efforts. The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority has issued new diversity guidelines requiring re/insurance undertakings to implement policies fostering diversity within governing bodies and establish quantitative objectives related to gender balance.
Rachel Turk (pictured above), chief of markets performance at Lloyd's, stated: "As leaders, we have a responsibility to take bold, decisive action to embed inclusivity into every aspect of our practices. This is not optional—it's a collective call to action."
Industry leaders have increasingly warned that inaction represents the biggest diversity, equity, and inclusion risk facing insurers, with performative diversity efforts losing credibility and becoming a liability for organisations.
Managing agents attending the summit will receive a list of actions to consider implementing within their organisations.
