Lloyd’s of London plans overhaul of ‘unclear’ conduct rules

LONDON (Reuters) – Lloyd’s of London said on Thursday it plans to overhaul its rules on dealing with poor conduct in the commercial insurance market as its current processes for dealing with bad behaviour could be “unclear”.

The Lloyd’s of London market, which employs nearly 50,000 people across insurance underwriting and broking, has come under scrutiny for conduct issues, including sexual harassment. But Lloyds’s handling of these issues has also been criticised, industry sources said.

The insurance market said it was aiming to provide greater clarity on the types of conduct that it considered unacceptable, and on when and how Lloyd’s would intervene on conduct issues.

Lloyd’s also said it proposed a new category of misconduct aimed at those who mistreat witnesses and whistleblowers. Other categories of misconduct include dishonesty and bullying and harassment.

It is proposing a new framework for dealing with poor behaviour, in which most issues “will be dealt with through firms’ own internal processes”, it said in a consultation document.

“Our current processes for dealing with issues of poor conduct can be unclear and may cut across firms’ own intervention processes,” it said.

Lloyd’s operates a market of more than 50 insurance companies.

Lloyd’s has some regulatory powers of its own, and can apply sanctions such as fines, the publication of public censure notices and formal suspension from the market. The companies that operate in the Lloyd’s market also have their own policies covering conduct.

Lloyd’s is seeking feedback on its proposals by mid-December.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn. Editing by Jane Merriman)