Life policy
EVEN DEATH affords no exit from Lloyd's of London. It has been tried, but Lloyd's open years prevail against it. They stretch far back into the past, with the results and the liabilities still unsettled. Members of Lloyd's who are trapped in them leave their unhappiness to their heirs, but leave them nothing else. Their liabili- ties are a charge on their estate, and until they are resolved it cannot be distributed. If only they could trade their membership of syndicates, like shares, or even pay someone to take them away — but Lloyd's own bespoke Act of Parliament barred that. Now Lloyd's seems to have discovered a way round it. Tradable membership has the merit of being a market solution. It will set prices on the competence of Lloyd's professionals, and make it harder for them to keep the plums for their friends or them- selves. Members must hope to live long enough to see it.
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