I read this book because I am interested in learning more about insurance, even more so after learning about Carroll Shanks as described in my last post.
This book discusses the history of Lloyd's up through the early 1980s. It was not especially interesting, but had some good stories about major insurance debacles and gives a nice flavor of how surplus lines and reinsurance worked in the 1960s and 1970s. I think it gave me a renewed appreciation for what a generally terrible business reinsurance and how impossible it is to analyze from the outside. Also, I'm not sure if the book just glossed over it, but it seemed amazing how little analysis went into underwriting and risk control at Lloyds.
While I was reading this I coincidentally attended a presentation on reps & warranty insurance where the buyers said basically: it is amazing how little diligence these people do and how cheap this stuff is. I don't know who is right - only time will tell I suppose.
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