IBM Appointed to Run Lloyd’s Exchange

IBM to Run New Messaging Service for London Market

LONDON - IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announces it has signed an agreement with Lloyd’s, the world’s leading specialist insurance market, to trial the new Lloyd’s Exchange messaging service. The new service will trial the electronic distribution of data between London Insurance Market insurers and brokers, replacing traditional paper based operations.

The Lloyd’s Exchange is part of a series of initiatives to ensure London continues to be the market of choice for placing insurance and reinsurance business. This messaging service will provide a central point of contact for the market by introducing web based technology that removes the need for each organization to maintain multiple connections. The service will use ACORD data standards to ensure a common framework and guidelines for all communication within the London Market. This will provide a smarter way of sharing information between insurance organizations and improved access to third party services.

“The Lloyd’s Exchange demonstrates not only our commitment to accelerating the pace of reform to improve customer service, cost efficiency and access to the London market, but also our adoption of ACORD standards for effective and efficient information exchange,” said Sue Langley, Director, Market Operations and North America, at Lloyd’s. “In partnering with IBM, we have selected a company with a proven track record in providing messaging hubs as well as supporting successful change in the way markets and industries operate.”

“This is an important first step for the Exchange and IBM is dedicated to developing the service to help make operations more efficient and cost-effective for the London Market,” commented Graham Wright, UK Insurance Leader, IBM Global Business Services. “Our messaging service caters for all levels of technology sophistication so that the whole market will be able to participate.”

The new Lloyd’s Exchange service exploits IBM’s proven capability in providing standards based electronic messaging exchanges. The service is based on the imarket electronic trading network for the UK company market which IBM built and has run since 2003.

As well as providing its core messaging service, IBM will supplement this with a range of business and technical services which will be used to establish, implement and support the new service. In addition, IBM will provide a Starter Connection Pack to allow companies with no existing messaging capability to construct, send and receive messages across the Lloyd’s Exchange.

The service is operational today and will be available for the initial wave of market participants in the second quarter 2009, with a progressive roll out across the market in the second half of the year and into early 2010.

The contract was signed in February 2009.

About IBM
For more information about IBM, visit www.ibm.com/insurance

About Lloyd’s of London
Lloyd’s is the world’s leading specialist insurance market. Lloyd’s underwriting capacity at 1 January 2008 is £15.95 billion which will be underwritten through 75 syndicates (including SPS and RITC syndicates), managed by 46 managing agents and supported by 176 brokers. It is the world’s third largest non-life reinsurer, and is the second largest surplus lines insurer in the US.