The assured must contact his broker to initiate the claims process. Therefore, the shipowner’s or manager’s insurance department will immediately inform the company’s broker, who will inform the lead underwriter at Lloyd’s (assuming that the leading line on the slip was that of a Lloyd’s underwriter).
The lead underwriter will instruct a surveyor to ascertain and report the nature, cause and extent of damage. The broker then informs the lead underwriter and Lloyd’s Claims Office, which acts on behalf of the other “following” underwriters. Once the validity of the claim has been checked and payment agreed, Lloyd’s central accounting system ensures that the claim is paid directly to the broker’s account and the accounts of the underwriting syndicates are duly debited.
