Lloyd’s has reduced its exposure to the euro in preparation for a potential collapse of the single European currency.

Speaking in London, CEO Richard Ward told the Sunday Telegraph that it has reduced its exposure “as much as possible” to the euro and has a contingency plan to switch euro underwriting to multi-currency settlement.

Lloyd’s generates 18% of its £23.5 billion ($37.4 billion) gross written premium in Europe, primarily from France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

“I’m quite worried about Europe,” Mr Ward said. “I don’t think that if Greece exited the euro it would lead to the collapse of the eurozone, but what we need to do is prepare for that eventuality.”

Mr Ward says transitional arrangements for existing insurance policies would also be a concern. “They would not necessarily have to be moved to a new currency, but it would be about how you would agree to nominate existing policies if the euro collapsed.”

But the main concern for Lloyd’s is the impact that any collapse in the euro would have on its £58.9 billion ($93.7 billion) investment portfolio.

“There are some concerns that we could see a recession again in Europe,” he said. “That would have an impact on our assets and we would have to take some writedowns.”

In recent years Lloyd’s has moved much of its investment portfolio out of euros, with its investments split equally into cash, corporate bonds and government bonds predominantly in Australia, Canada, the US and the UK.