Golden fleece
Sir: In Henry Porter's article, 'Keeping up appearances', (12 October), he twice likens Lloyd's to a casino. My understanding is that the function of a casino is to fleece the customers for the benefit of the owners. At Lloyd's some of the owners, or members, have found that the reverse has happened and that their customers, the policy hold- ers, have had such favourable policies that it is the owners' fleeces that are hanging out to dry.
The article in fact implies that the rewards or penalties of membership are entirely a question of luck, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. Many of those who have been members of Lloyd's for some time are facing losses that will only remove a small part of the profits made during the last 20 years. Some mem- bers have suffered and will suffer very sub- stantial losses.
The faults probably lic with those under- writers who have been too weak, those members' agents who have chosen syndi- cates too uncritically, and those members themselves who have rushed into Lloyd's too rashly and without taking the absolutely vital precaution of choosing their members' agents with intense care. There has always been a wide disparity at Lloyd's between the results achieved by the most skilful and the least skilful underwriters and agents.
Luck may play a part in the 'very short term, but results in the long term very sel- dom depend upon anything other than skill. Skill, as in any other commercial or sport- ing activity, comes from total commitment and consistent hard work. Many of our members have profited and continue to profit from the devoted skills of underwrit- ers, agents and brokers at Lloyd's who con- tinue to give us their confidence.
Mr Porter totally fails to identify this absolutely crucial feature of Lloyd's.
C. K Murray Chairman, R J Kiln & Co Ltd,
117 Fenchurch Street, London EC3
Actually, were about to have a vacancy'
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