Finally something to shout about: London’s insurance market!
The London insurance market represents what’s best about our city – its talented workforce, its global outlook and its creativity, writes Susan Langley
Mark Twain said that “a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes”. Perception is reality, and at a time in which disinformation is rife, fiction is readily accepted over fact and some seek to undermine the work we do here in the City through cynical falsehoods, it’s absolutely vital that we take control of our own narrative.
I’ve often said that we need to be more Tigger than Eeyore, but the importance of putting forward a positive, fact-based case for the City has become all the more urgent given the increasingly widespread assault on truth. In trying to counter it, we face two sides of the same coin.
On the one hand, we need to combat the naysayers who talk the City down on issues such as crime, when in reality the Square Mile is one of the safest places in the country – and much safer than many of our competitor cities like New York – with an effective crime rate of just 0.01 per capita per year.
And on the other hand, we need to reassess our own, very British reticence, doing away with the modesty and self-deprecation we’re often known for and instead shouting (in a politely British way, of course) about all the things we do so well with a revived confidence.
A perfect example came last week from my industry – the insurance industry – with the publication of the London Market Group’s bi-annual report: Why London Matters. As the report shows, the sector is as important to the economic health of the UK today as it was three centuries ago when Londoners first began to take out insurance policies in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London.
Insurance represents what’s best about London
Indeed, the London Market is part of a unique ecosystem of capital, talent and experience – not just in insurance, but in associated professions like law and accountancy – that our competitors simply can’t replicate. It allows us to serve global clients when other local insurers are either unable, or lack the appetite, to underwrite their needs, all of which helps to explain why we now enjoy a remarkable global market share of 45 per cent in marine, aviation and energy risks.
Altogether, the industry generates more than a third of the City’s GDP, employs over 60,000 people across more than 350 businesses and is widely regarded as the world’s pre-eminent insurance sector with unrivalled expertise in specialist and complex risk. You name it, the London Market has insured it. From the run-of-the-mill (like property and infrastructure), to the unique (like space craft and supply chains), to the bizarre (like Ken Dodd’s teeth and even Michael Flatley’s legs!). It’s no wonder, then, that London has more than doubled its premium over the last 10 years – from $93bn in 2015 to $187bn in 2024.
But of course, this is about much more than just money; the benefits of this success story are felt by billions of people around the world, even if they don’t immediately realise it. The insurance sector allows innovation to thrive, gives businesses the confidence to expand, enables growth and importantly – fundamental to its purpose – offers prompt support when things go wrong.
The new app you’re using on your phone, the medicine your mum is taking, the green energy now powering your home and car – all of it underpinned by innovators and investors who can only do what they do best (innovate and invest) because they’ve got the confidence provided by insurance to take risks. And of course, it’s also an industry that offers fantastic career opportunities – something I’ve experienced first-hand and want to highlight through the mayoralty.
In many ways, the London Market represents what’s best about our city – its talented, international workforce, its global outlook, and its creativity, resilience and determination to find solutions in times of crisis and uncertainty. As we look ahead to the period of unprecedented change before us – the age of AI, quantum and crypto – the London Market will prove more important than ever. Together, let’s tell everyone just how great it is.
Susan Langley is the Lady Mayor of Canada