A Wolf of Wall Street alpha male culture in finance may seem antiquated for today’s world. But Lloyd’s of London is still associated with it.
The British insurance market has an infamously laddish culture of drugs and daytime drinking. Some of its not-so-colorful chronicles also include cases of sexual harassment.
In short, the 300-plus-year-old marketplace stayed stuck in its backward ways for far too long.
But now, Lloyd’s of London, which has about 380 brokers and a network of 4,000 insurance professionals, is finally planning to take action to end years of misconduct. It’s looking to implement changes that “modernize and streamline” its approach to poor behavior, including around harassment, bullying, and discrimination.
In the 21-page consultation published Thursday, the insurance market wants to set up better processes for investigating employees who raise disciplinary complaints and bring “greater clarity” about unacceptable actions.
Proposed changes to Lloyd’s of London’s culture
Among the proposed changes to Lloyd’s of London’s bylaws is one that will ban “conducting Lloyd’s business when under the influence of alcohol where it leads to unprofessional behaviour.”
Lloyd’s put a stop to day drinking for its own employees in 2017, which often saw scores of employees spilling over the famous Leadenhall Market’s historic-looking pubs. These new proposed rules cover all brokers and insurance professionals who work on the Lloyd's market but are employed by other firms.
It admitted its current processes are “unclear,” as are the possible actions taken to address the concerns. Lloyd’s plans to add a category of “improper” conduct in addition to “discreditable” and “detrimental” ones that broaden the scope of what behaviors it will take action against.
The British insurance market will consider forms of misconduct that happen outside but related to the workplace, such as at an offsite or in social gatherings related to the job.
Its proposal also includes protections for whistleblowers who flag bad behavior and remediation for managing agents who underperform because of poor culture.
Lloyd’s of London declined to comment beyond its press release.
Black marks
Lloyd’s is a behemoth in its own right—and a high-profile one at that. It insures pretty much everything under the sun, from David Beckham’s legs to Cadburys’ chief taster’s sense of taste.
Still, its culture has stayed stubbornly male-dominated and toxic for far too long.
Even when the British market appointed a female CEO, Inga Beale, in 2014, she faced pushback in implementing fixes to the company’s culture.
Two years later, a Bloomberg report highlighted the rampant culture of alcohol, inappropriate remarks, and inertia for change. Part of the reason is that a large chunk of those who work at Lloyd’s aren’t its employees but work at insurance companies in tandem with the marketplace.
Shortly after, the insurance marketplace said it would bar people who are believed to be drinking or taking drugs in its offices, acknowledging at the time that it had “more work to do.” Lloyd’s also announced an action plan for those reporting sexual harassment at work.
If Lloyd’s decides to make the long-due sweeping changes to its approach, it might finally help repair its tainted reputation as an institution that turns a blind eye to practices frowned upon by most other firms—whether or not they’re in finance.
In a post #MeToo era and amid growing calls to stop sexism and male-centric culture in the corporate world, Lloyd’s probably has a long way to go before it can turn its reputation around.
