Lloyd’s threatens to mandate use of electronic processing tools

Lloyds current use of Electronic Claims File and the Accounting and Settlement Repository (A&S) fall short of the goals set by the Market Reform Group (MRG), prompting the markets chief executive to threaten mandating the use of the electronic processing tools.
The published MRG targets for A&S uptake are 40% by end of 2007 Q2, 60% by the end of Q3 and 80% by the end of 2007. Currently, only 17% of the market used A&S, a Lloyds statement notes.
On ECF the MRG has set targets of 30%, 60% and 100% by end of Q2, Q3 and the year, respectively.
The market level use of ECF over the last two weeks is 28.5%, Lloyds reports.
Richard Ward, Lloyds CEO, expressed his disappointment in the market release.
We will continue to engage with the brokers and [Xchanging Insurance Services] to improve the speed of take-up and I would ask that you use every opportunity to encourage your broker counterparts to do so.
The MRG intentions include:
-a heightened level of engagement with managing agents and Lloyds brokers to understand how ECF and A&S usage can be accelerated;
-publication of performance figures by the end of September; and
-mandating the use of ECF and A&S only if take-up has not accelerated by the end of Q3.
To support the mandate, Ward says that the Franchise Board could, among other initiatives, require managing agents to enter into revised terms of business agreements with Lloyds brokers to contractually agree to appropriate use of ECF and A&S.