Consultants on the underwriting floor! Lloyd's decision to call in Deloitte for its latest strategic review will send a tremor through the insurance market's old hands. Certainly, there are inefficiencies to be ironed out.

There must be a cost to the queues of brokers clutching papers that still sometimes form in front of the underwriters' boxes. But Lloyd's has put its own house in order and can now benefit from a bit of not-so-discreet external self-promotion while rivals and critics are reeling.

What's more, even the most ardent modernisers don't want to abolish the face-to-face bespoke transactions that are the heart of the London market.

When an over-reliance on computer models and screen-based transactions is being blamed for leading high finance astray, it is obviously not the moment to cast doubt on a personal touch refined over three centuries.

andrew.hill@ft.com

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