Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene has called on underwriters and brokers to move away from the paper-bound system and embrace the 21st century.

Stating he had never come across an industry as paper-bound as the London insurance market, Lord Levene said he sees a future where claims processing is simple and faster, there is a greater degree of contractual certainty when policies are agreed and new technology is used to reduce paperwork.

As part of this vision, Lloyds has developed three key initiatives – LMP, Xchanging and Project Blue Mountain – all IT-based products aimed at increasing business efficiency.

“It’s odd to think that the fundamentals of the insurance industry have changed so little since the days of Edward Lloyd’s coffee shop,” Lord Levene said. “We need to go further if we are to maintain our position as the global market’s premier trading centre in the 21st century.”