Insights

Cultural And Behavioural Change In The London Insurance Market

Lighting a thousand flames

Culture within Lloyd's and the London Market has gained strong public and industry interest over the past six months. Stories have emerged in the press that point to a deeply ingrained culture of poor behaviours and norms, which have been allowed to persist for far too long. The recent foray by Lloyd’s into uncovering culture issues and communicating them is a commendable and much-needed step in the right direction.

Yet there is an underlying and bigger question about whether some participants in the market, and broader industry, like (and benefit from) the “way it always has been.” Here, we are not only referring to inclusion and diversity themes but also the broader spectrum of cultural and conduct topics faced by insurance players. Going forward, the regulatory and public scrutiny on culture and conduct is unlikely to abate. The dialogue on culture and conduct has started to blend in with topics such as environment, social and governance priorities, as well as non-financial misconduct topics.

Often those that recognise the need to change tend to focus on bigger, often structural modifications, or launching large scale communications efforts.  They may forget the smaller, day-to-day opportunities to shift behaviours. Given culture is complex and multifaceted, to achieve long lasting change organisations need to align the structural and behavioural mechanisms.  

We believe insurance players need to develop a more complete picture of the cultural and behavioural patterns within their organisations, and the root causes underpinning these. Off the back of this, to then start to build a sustainable change journey that they can learn and adapt over time
Lynnette Lin, Principal, Organisational Effectiveness

Culture is changed when behaviours are changed.  Behaviours are changed when the new task becomes automatic.  This takes time, commitment, sustained effort and reinforcements by organisations and leaders. 

Cultural And Behavioural Change In The London Insurance Market


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