At Lloyd's of London, the venerable insurance market, the name Robert Walker Roylance, a former chairman of Lloyd's, has long been associated with failure and scandal. In the 1950s, the Roylance syndicates suffered tremendous underwriting losses and collapsed. Other Lloyd's syndicates agreed, in the 1960s, to reinsure any future losses of the Roylance syndicates. The 1980s brought a new threat to the Roylance syndicates and their Lloyd's reinsurers, in the form of a torrent of asbestos and other long-tail insurance claims from the United States. Overwhelmed with losses, Lloyd's then embarked upon a restructuring program in the 1990s, which ultimately led to all the Roylance syndicates' losses being reinsured by Equitas.
This novel takes place in 2007. The Roylance syndicates are confronted with a billion dollars in asbestos bodily injury claims arising out of a 1958 reinsurance contract. The lawyers for the syndicates believe that the signature of the Roylance underwriter on the contract was recently forged, and that there is no reinsurance coverage for the claims. In order to prove their case, the lawyers delve into the history of the Roylance syndicates. What caused the syndicates' losses in the 1950s? Why did the Roylance syndicates collapse? When did Lloyd's arrange for the syndicates' losses to be run off? Which Lloyd's syndicates participated in the Roylance run-off reinsurance? Who paid the Roylance syndicates' run-off losses?
This novel was written for all the underwriting members of Lloyd's, also known as Names. Many of these Names have long suspected that they never knew all the facts about their ruinous Lloyd's losses. At the heart of this book are three individual Names: Robert Walker Roylance, Albert Waugh Brayley, and Charles Kent Roylance. Each of these men made their own unique contributions to Lloyd's, and this book was written in part to honor their memories. This book also contains information that may be of interest to underwriters, claims handlers, brokers, lawyers, Lloyd's, regulators, and historians. Readers may find that a background understanding of Lloyd's and reinsurance enhances their appreciation of this book.
This novel takes place in 2007. The Roylance syndicates are confronted with a billion dollars in asbestos bodily injury claims arising out of a 1958 reinsurance contract. The lawyers for the syndicates believe that the signature of the Roylance underwriter on the contract was recently forged, and that there is no reinsurance coverage for the claims. In order to prove their case, the lawyers delve into the history of the Roylance syndicates. What caused the syndicates' losses in the 1950s? Why did the Roylance syndicates collapse? When did Lloyd's arrange for the syndicates' losses to be run off? Which Lloyd's syndicates participated in the Roylance run-off reinsurance? Who paid the Roylance syndicates' run-off losses?
This novel was written for all the underwriting members of Lloyd's, also known as Names. Many of these Names have long suspected that they never knew all the facts about their ruinous Lloyd's losses. At the heart of this book are three individual Names: Robert Walker Roylance, Albert Waugh Brayley, and Charles Kent Roylance. Each of these men made their own unique contributions to Lloyd's, and this book was written in part to honor their memories. This book also contains information that may be of interest to underwriters, claims handlers, brokers, lawyers, Lloyd's, regulators, and historians. Readers may find that a background understanding of Lloyd's and reinsurance enhances their appreciation of this book.
