Open market

At 1 Lime Street, in the Richard Rogers building opened in 1986, the broker sits down at an underwriter's box with an MRC, the Market Reform Contract that took over from the old slip, and asks him to lead the risk. That is the open market: each risk is placed on its own, presented by a broker, discussed, priced and signed. The lead sets the terms and the rate, writes a line and applies a stamp; the broker then looks for followers, at Lloyd's or among the company market, up to 100% or more, and signs lines down if the placement is oversubscribed. The price is therefore made by the lead, on the quality of the submission and on the experience of the lead's team in the class. Followers take it or leave it, and their room to maneuver lies mainly in the size of their line. The other route is delegated business: binders, coverholders, line slips, consortia, through which thousands of small risks come in that no Lime Street underwriter sees one by one. According to the Corporation, that second route accounted in 2024 for about 39% of Lloyd's premium, service companies excluded, and more with them included; the rest goes through the open market, reinsurance included. The open market keeps the large, unusual or new risks, a cyber tower of several hundred million or a satellite in low Earth orbit. It is expensive in broker time and in the same questions asked box after box, which market modernization has been trying to reduce for years. Not to be confused with the following market, which describes an underwriter's position in a placement, or with the written and signed line, which is its numerical outcome.