Lloyd’s of London will close its underwriting room, effective 4 p.m. local time on Thursday.
The decision follows a dry run last Friday when market authorities closed the underwriting floors in the iconic London building for a day to test emergency protocols amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement Wednesday, Lloyd’s said it was closing the underwriting room, which houses dozens of so-called boxes from which underwriters for different syndicates operate, in line with U.K. government advice to avoid nonessential contact.
The market, which for more than 300 years has facilitated face-to-face negotiations between brokers and underwriters, will continue to trade despite the closure, the statement said.
“We are confident that our emergency trading protocols will enable the market to continue trading during the closure and we will review this decision on a weekly basis,” the statement said.
The decision comes amid wider efforts to digitize many processes at Lloyd’s in an effort to cut costs.
More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.
