Lloyd’s America held its fourth annual “Boot Camp” September 23-25 as a virtual event in the U.S. The popular event is designed to provide brokers, coverholders and other stakeholders an intense “deep dive” on the inner-workings of the Market.

Session topics included the specific roles of the broker and underwriter, various distribution channels, claims and several sessions on specific specialist classes of business.  A key to the event’s success is that each session is facilitated by an expert from the Market, with a heavy representation from London brokers and syndicates.

The agenda also included several “webinines”, short form webinars where an expert speaks on a single topic - with a nine-minute time limit.  Rounding out the program were daily networking sessions, live polling questions and a Team Challenge, where small working groups competed against each other to answer the question “How would you present Lloyd's to a client, if you only had five minutes?”  Each team presented their content to the group, who then voted to determine the winner. Lloyd's were pleased to see such creative presentations.   

The event has traditionally been held in Lloyd’s Chicago offices, and this year’s original plan was to add a second session in New York, to accommodate growing demand.   However, as with most industry events, Covid-19 restrictions required a change in plans, and Boot Camp was successfully presented virtually (via Zoom) for the first time. A highlight was to be able to move the participants into smaller networking rooms for a valuable opportunity to connect and meet new people.

More than 100 delegates from 18 states participated in this year’s Lloyd's Boot Camp, and the event qualifies for six hours of continuing education in 10 states.  

The Boot Camp itself serves as an appetizer for the annual North American Broker Academy held in London. This is an immersive week for 35 to 40 “rising star” intermediaries with an educational structure that over its 25 plus years has evolved into a highly experiential programme including time in The Room  on a box with underwriters, shadow broking, CEO round table and dinner in the Adam room (Lloyd’s board room).  

In turn there is a fledgling Broker Academy Alumni group being formed. This will act as an advisory council for future Academy’s and initiatives. In return the members will be closely advised on developments at Lloyd's and have exclusive access to events such as the recent personal briefing by Lloyd’s CEO John Neal.

For more information on Boot Camp, including plans for 2021, contact U.S. Central Regional Director Pat Talley at pat.talley@lloyds.com.