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Lloyd’s of London: Lloyd’s Lab
programme highlights
In Autumn 2018, L Marks, alongside Boston Consulting Group, partnered with 300-year-old specialist insurance and reinsurance market, Lloyd’s of London, to create Lloyd’s Lab.
Based in a bespoke co-working space within the iconic Lloyd’s building in the City of London, the 10-week insurtech accelerator programme is now in its fifth iteration with the new cohort set to join the Lab in September 2020.
Lloyd’s Lab brings together the most promising early-stage and growth-stage businesses from around the world and provides them with a unique opportunity to collaborate with the managing agents working at the heart of the Lloyd’s market, as well as Lloyd’s Corporation staff. The selected businesses benefit from the insights, mentorship and practical support of both the market and corporation, allowing them to develop products and services that cater to the current needs and future ambitions of the marketplace.
As well as producing technologies that have been adopted by a number of managing agents, Lloyd’s Lab has succeeded in inspiring an entrepreneurial ethos throughout the market, becoming the the focal point of the organisation’s wider innovation agenda.
Along with the flagship 10-week accelerator programme, L Marks has this year launched two further programmes with Lloyd’s of London: Fast-tracked Covid-19 Sprint and a Fusion programme. These programmes were designed in response to different aspects of the Covid-19 global pandemic, from customer support and economic recovery in the short term to building resilience in the market to counter future waves of the virus and/or crises on a similar scale.
One of L Marks’ newest programmes, Fusion solves difficult challenges by bringing together executives, business and operational teams and a number of startups for a three-day immersion into innovation processes and practices, from ideation through to prototyping and testing.
Results
With Cohort 5 set to join the Lab in September 2020, here’s a recap of we’ve already achieved with Cohorts 1-4:
Participation
•Over the first three cohorts 32 out of a total of 55 managing agents took part in Lloyd’s Lab by providing mentoring to at least one business.
•Taken together, Lloyd’s Lab events to date have been attended by 52 out of a total of 55 managing agent.
Outcomes
•75% of Lloyd’s Lab alumni continue to actively engage with the market via one of the following methods: an agreed paid proof of concept; another commercial arrangement; ongoing commercial conversations; or continuing engagement with mentors.
Accolades
•2019 Reactions London Market Awards ‘Insurtech Incubator of the Year’
•Finalist in Insurance Times Tech and Innovation Awards 2019 ‘Technology Partner of the Year – Underwriting’
•Identified as one of best corporate accelerators in the UK by Beauhurst
Parsyl
Parsyl’s supply chain management platform helps shippers, retailers and insurers understand the conditions that will maintain the quality of sensitive and perishable goods as they move through the supply chain. 
Collaboration
Part of Cohort 1, Parsyl had not worked within the insurance industry before joining the Lab. During the programme, the team worked with Lloyd’s and a handful of top-tier market syndicates to develop a new initiative offering crafted risk coverage for sensitive shipments using Parsyl’s solution. The team also worked with its mentor group to access historical claims data in order to determine the potential usefulness of its solution for a much larger claims initiative.
Outcomes
By the end of the programme in December 2018, Parsyl had established partnerships with six large insurers with a view to providing enhanced marine loss-mitigation and risk-prevention services. In February 2019, two of those insurers – Ascot and Beazley – launched a Lloyd’s-based cargo consortium, offering insureds the use of Parsyl’s device to manage risk claims and performance.
In July 2020, Parsyl announced that it will provide insurance and risk mitigation services to support the manufacturing and distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine. Developed in anticipation of a Covid-19 vaccine, Parsyl’s “Syndicate 1796” both recognises and responds to the need for a comprehensive and streamlined insurance and risk mitigation strategy that can complement manufacturing and distribution objectives of major vaccine development efforts, including the ACT-Accelerator Vaccines Pillar (COVAX) and the US Government’s Operation Warp Speed (OWS). Syndicate 1796 was recently approved by Lloyd’s of London and is planning to begin operations on 1 October 2020.
Layr
Layr’s proprietary underwriting algorithm makes it easier for small businesses to access liability insurance by enabling business owners to select the most suitable insurance, quoting a real-time monthly fee to be paid by credit card and, finally, identifying the relevant insurance carrier.
Collaboration
During Lloyd’s Lab, Layr completed API integrations with service providers including Xero Accounting and QuickBooks Accounting, providing commercial customers with a tailored quote in a single click – and without having to complete the usual insurance application.
Outcomes
Following the end of the programme, Lloyd’s invested in Layr, while Head of Innovation at Lloyd’s, Trevor Maynard, joined the company as an advisor. Layr used some of the funds from the Lloyd’s investment to obtain surplus lines licenses, enabling the company to operate in the UK. The team has since signed a contract with a carrier to have its terror product deployed on the Layr platform.
On 1st July 2020, Layr announced a $5 million Series Seed round of financing led by Sandbox Insurtech Ventures with participation from new investors Flyover Capital and Maschmeyer Group Ventures, and from existing investor, Lloyd’s of London.
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