What is not changing?

MRC Guidance

• The MRC guidance is not changing as a result of phase one. MRC v3 is already available, and some brokers have started using it. The MRC guidance can be found here: https://lmg.london/document/2023-03-29-mrc-om-guidance-v3-0/

• It is expected that adoption of the MRC v3 will continue to increase with time. The Data Council intends that at least 80% of in-scope lines of business incepting from 1 Jan 2024 will conform to the MRC v3 guidance.

IPOS and ICOS

• It is Velonetic’s (previously London Market Joint Ventures’) intention that the feeds from IPOS and ICOS to Central Settlement will be the same as existing feeds. There will not be a need for any changes to Lloyd’s Central Settlement to consume the new feeds. 

IMR Portal

• The IMR portal will still be used after the phase one cutover, and used for the same purposes; however, the look and feel of the portal may change. Elements of the functionality will be moved to IPOS and ICOS.

• Some other changes to IMR are under consideration by Velonetic that may affect the user interface functionality.  A more detailed view of these is expected by mid-October 2023.

• Please note that if you’re using DRI to access the IMR, the DRI connection must be repointed to the new Market Gateway (ASG Adept). See What is Changing and What to do and when for more details.

Reports

• Reports from Velonetic that exist today are expected to exist like-for-like in phase one. 

• Please note that the reports themselves are not changing, but the method of getting the reports is. See What is Changing and What to do and when for more details.

Messaging

The following items around messaging are not changing:

• The use and purpose of EDI, CWT, DRI and Writeback messages will be the same, and the same types of messages will still exist in phase one, even though they will come from the new Market Gateway (ASG Adept) and EDI messages may change. See  What is Changing and What to do and when for more details.

• EDI messages will still be sent overnight at the same time and will include grouped transactions, simulating today’s batching process. Insurers will not need to develop API capability for phase one. There will also be no need for insurers to comply with ACORD standards, as EDI messages have their own set of standards that will be used for phase one.

• It is the Velonetic’s intention that the EDI message coming out of the new Market Gateway (ASG Adept) will be in the same physical EDI format as today.

• Writeback will continue to be available in phase one and phase two. The longevity of Writeback after that is to be confirmed, but there are currently no plans for decommissioning Writeback.

Process

The majority of processes around placement, claims, accounting & settlement are expected to remain the same. In particular:

• During phase one, Velonetic will process transactions as they do today, even though these will be processed on new systems. Therefore, the level of automation is not expected to improve until phase two.

• It is the Velonetic’s intention that IPOS and ICOS will manage the open market, delegated authority and proportional treaty transactions in the same way as today, with messages being consistent for these three types of business.

• Referencing structures in messages will remain the same, e.g., syndicate, company and broker numbers, signing number and date, original signing number and date. 

  •  Transactions processed on the new systems will still have an original signing number and date linking them to the original transaction, even in cases where the original transaction was processed on the old system.

• Central Settlement will remain unchanged, and insurers will keep using the same bank accounts. The netting service will remain as it is, and money movements via STFO (for Lloyd’s) and RBS (for Company Market) will still happen at the end of the day with the same cutover time of 6 pm.

  •  The 3-day rolling settlement will continue to be the standard settlement cycle in Central Settlement. Insurers will still receive an overnight message on day 1, giving them two days to ensure the account is fully funded for the movement to happen on day 3.

  •   It is the Velonetic’s intention that the feeds from IPOS and ICOS to Central Settlement will be precisely the same as existing feeds. There will not be a need for any changes to Central Settlement to consume the new feeds.

  • Transactions going through Direct Settlement will have an Actual Payment Date (APD) field, just like Central Settlement transactions. 

  • The Lloyd’s Currency Conversion Service (CCS) will still exist and will still have the same currencies as today. Exchange rates will be updated as frequently as they are now for Central Settlement. 

  • Direct Settlement will have more than 100 currencies and will use live exchange rates.

• The new systems will still differentiate between Additional Premium transactions for instalments and endorsements. The same identifiers will exist in the standardised messages received by market participants.

• Once a claim is agreed, this will still automatically trigger the transaction to be created and processed by Velonetic. There will be no action on the broker to trigger transaction creation during phase one.

• LORS is moving to the new cloud-based portals IPOS and ICOS, and it is the Velonetic’s intention that the functionality will remain exactly the same as it is today. Details to be provided by Velonetic to the market, target date Q1 2024.

• In phase one, Accounting & Settlement / LPAN submissions will continue via IMR / DRI, and these will continue to be submitted at a non-fundamental level by the broker.