In series - Lloyd's & London Market: Social strengths

Where does social media sit in 
the minds of those working 
in the Lloyd’s and London market? The London market faculty New Generation Group initiative — which works across each of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s faculties — is designed to support the retention of talent and development of tomorrow’s leaders in the profession. Post sought its members’ views on the value of social media.


Sam Drysdale - Claims adjuster, Brit Insurance Group
What social media do you use (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In)? I am an infrequent user of all three.
How do you use it and have you seen any personal or business benefits up to now? 
I mainly use Facebook to keep up with friends and view their photos. I use Twitter for breaking news and sports stories from journalists while on the move. I recently signed up to Linked In as it can connect insurance professionals together and potentially progress my career through contacts made there. The insurance world’s take-up has been limited so the business benefits have not been fully explored. However, the use of social media is growing and companies should actively explore its potential.

How well do you think Lloyd’s and the London market is using it now?
Some insurance companies and brokers have started to use social media for communications, but it is under-utilised and under-publicised. Social media is the new age of communications and should be embraced.

Where do you see the opportunities in the market for adopting social media more widely?
There are many opportunities for individual companies and the market as a whole to take advantage of social media tools. As the CII’s New Generation Claims Group pointed out in its paper, New Media — 
Communicating in a Crisis, the Association of British Insurers could utilise social media to make announcements and give instructions regarding large loss events. Individual companies could also use social media to communicate with their policyholders concerning large losses or new deals and renewals. Furthermore, social media can be used to generate increased brand awareness, publicity and advertising to a 
potentially wide audience.

What are the risks of using social media in the industry?
Are they possible to overcome? There are risks to social media use such as abusive responses, spamming and hacking. These can be overcome by sufficient IT protection — which most companies have — and the monitoring of posts and comments on the sites. Abusive messages can be removed and the sender blocked.


Edward Gregory - Marine hull & liability underwriter, Swiss Re
What social media do you use (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In)?
I don’t use any of the major social media networks.

How do you use it and have you seen any personal or business benefits up to now?
From a personal point of view I have never felt the need to contact people through these networks and have adopted a somewhat old-fashioned approach. I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything by not using them.

How well do you think Lloyd’s and the London market is using it now?
I know Swiss Re recently started using Twitter and has amassed more than 1000 followers in quite a short space of time.

Where do you see the opportunities in the market for adopting social media more widely?
Over the past few years, social media platforms have established themselves as premier communication channels and I can only see these sites becoming more widely used and adopted by companies to market and 
advertise themselves.

What are the risks of using social media 
in the industry? Are they possible to overcome?
For a good example of social media risks you only need to look as far as footballers. Tweeting personal views, which are not necessarily the same view as their clubs, has seen players hit with heavy fines. It would appear very difficult to control individual views unless there is some sort of screening system before comments are allowed to be put forward.



Benjamin Warren - Underwriter, OIM Underwriting
What social media do you use (Facebook, Twitter, Linked In)?
Facebook and Twitter.

How do you use it and have you seen any personal or business benefits up to now?
I use Facebook primarily to stay in touch with friends and share photos and Twitter mainly to receive information – sports gossip and other personal interests. Neither is used in a business capacity.

How well do you think Lloyd’s and the London market is using it now?
In general, quite poorly. Facebook is increasingly utilised socially within the London market, for example, photographs from corporate days are uploaded by attendants and shared with others. Various social organisations such as Lloyd’s Non-Marine Under-30s group will set up shared pages and publicise events. In terms of pure business use, I see very little utilisation from the London market of either type of social media I use. Most London market firms make very little use of social media, especially compared to multinational non-insurance companies. They employ social media consultants to monitor the use of their brand names on sites and then respond accordingly with targeted advertising and the commission of specific market research products from the results. To my knowledge no one in the London market is taking social media as seriously as companies in other industries.

Where do you see the opportunities in the market for adopting social media more widely?
There are a number of opportunities to consider. From a promotional point of view, if we are talking about a London market perspective this is a difficult issue because most companies do not operate direct insurance from their London bases. If you consider that a large proportion of the business is received from a network of partner brokers and regional offices, the scope for social media is currently limited. From a research and product development point of view, the recent explosion of social media means there are thousands of live market-related conversations to explore for insight and to identify trends. By listening to these conversations you are considering the views of like-minded people that can drive improvements in the market and change business direction. To access this data you need to be involved in conversations, tweeting market updates and participating in regular forum and blog activities. Unfortunately, considering that much of insurance, especially the Lloyd’s market, is relatively historic and often hindered by legacy issues I do not think most industry leaders would be responsive to this.

What are the risks of using social media in the industry? Are they possible to overcome?
Any social activity provides live information on what your company is doing but this also offers a platform to generate negative feedback that could hurt reputation. However, these comments could be controlled by social media marketing strategies and proper business planning.