LIIBA: Digital trading will speed placement but brokers remain central

# What LIIBA found LIIBA's new research treats the current shift in trading technology as the next evolution for the London Market. Contributors included LIIBA's board and executive committee and workshops with brokers who have fewer than three years' market experience. The report frames the change as humans augmented by data and automated engines rather than technology displacing human judgement.

# How placement changes

Faster placement can reshape a broker's day. One scenario LIIBA outlines has brokers acting more like hunters sourcing business globally, instead of spending time on repetitive daily placement tasks in the office. LIIBA's chief executive, Christopher Croft, says the freed time should be directed at closing the market's underinsurance gap rather than just cutting costs.

# The role brokers keep Trust and expertise remain the most protected elements in the market. LIIBA found established brokers resist opaque systems making unsupervised decisions that could affect reputations. Early-career brokers are more likely to worry about losing client contact or roles, while executives with profit-and-loss responsibilities are more open to automation that reduces costs.

Croft emphasizes that brokers sell a service—peace of mind and explanation—so clients will continue to need human support when placements get more sophisticated. The research says automation enhances the intermediary role by making trades more complex and therefore more in need of explanation to clients.

# Risks and regulatory questions LIIBA points to past initiatives—Blueprint 2, the Target Operating Model, and CSRP—that were ambitious but fell short in execution. That history shapes a cautious approach to replacing manual markets with index-style or derivative trading. LIIBA argues any move must be judged by client outcomes rather than technical capability alone.

The shift also raises regulatory questions. Derivative-style trading could sit under different rules than traditional insurance placements. Croft intends to raise those questions with the UK Financial Conduct Authority following the report's publication.

# Practical implications for brokers and firms

• Firms should plan where to redeploy staff time: customer outreach, addressing underinsurance, or expanding international business.
• Governance and transparency of automated engines will be critical for client trust and for meeting regulatory standards.
• Fragmented adoption across the insurance chain may blunt benefits unless trading partners and carriers align on standards and workflow.

# Bottom line LIIBA's research predicts technology will speed and change execution but not replace the adviser role. The debate within the market is about how far automation should go and how to manage trust, client outcomes, and regulatory alignment as trading tools spread.