Lloyd’s Chairman Lord Levene has outlined the considerable exposures faced by the London market, describing 2010 as a year of “direct hits”.

Speaking at the Lloyd’s New York City dinner last week, he said if 2009 “was the year of the near miss, then in 2010 we have seen direct hits”.

“We took the profits last year, and this year we must pay the losses.”

Lord Levene highlighted Lloyd’s key role following a series of devastating natural catastrophes and man-made disasters.

They include earthquakes in Haiti, Chile and China, the Icelandic volcano as well as the Deepwater oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lord Levene also spoke of the benefits of globalisation, with Lloyd’s now earning more than 40% of its business in the US compared to just 20% in the UK.

“If globalisation provides great opportunity for international business, it also confers great responsibility,” he said.