Placing Platform Limited’s (PPL) electronic trading platform is intended to replace paper not face-to-face negotiation, says Jonathan Bloomfield, Rollout Lead for PPL.
PPL supports face-to-face negotiation for brokers and underwriters, electronic placements, or a combination of both. The platform enables brokers and insurers to quote, negotiate, bind and endorse business electronically and is a critical component of the work led by the London Market Group (LMG) to make London an easier place to do business.
“The platform is all about enabling brokers and underwriters to provide a faster service to their clients,” explains Jonathan, who is leading the rollout of the market onto the platform. “We are taking an evolutionary, not revolutionary, approach to market adoption and endeavouring to communicate and consult with the market at all times – whether the news is good or bad. And, most importantly, we listen to market concerns and address them.”
When preparing for rollout Jonathan makes sure that the different requirements of the market are catered for. “We need to agree the scope of the rollout of the classes of business, the timings of on-boarding, numbers of practitioners and corresponding markets in order to develop a programme of training and support for the market to ensure that firms are ready and prepared for rollout,” advises Jonathan.
The PPL team employs various communication channels when rolling out the classes of business on the platform: Jonathan hosts a weekly conference call for up to 150 project managers and the PPL team also hosts regular events and demonstrations for anyone in the market interested in using the platform.
“We are taking every opportunity to engage with the market and listen to what it wants. We are determined to get it right,” he explains.
Once all classes are on the platform and integration with market firms’ systems is in place, using the platform will reduce processing costs, improve the speed of placement, faster endorsement agreement and make a full contract audit trail available.
As a former business analyst specialising in e-commerce at several insurance firms, Jonathan is used to working on complex programmes. However, Jonathan says that his time at Beazley, where he was brought in to deliver an e-trading platform, was of particular value. The platform won the Lloyd’s Best Non-Product Innovation 2015, an accolade which Jonathan is very proud of, and provided invaluable experience for his current role at PPL.
Jonathan adds: “Integrity is my strongest personal value and I believe being honest and transparent at all times is the key to the continued success of PPL.”
- Describe your role in three words?
- Rewarding, challenging, evolutionary.
- What do you enjoy most about your job?
- Working with fantastic people to facilitate a positive change in the London Market.
- What is the best thing about the London Market?
- The juxtaposition of rich history with the willingness to modernise.
- Describe your perfect day.
- Anywhere spent with my wife and three children (unless it involves Ikea).