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📋 '''Stamp''' in the insurance market — most prominently the [[Definition:Lloyd's | Lloyd's]] of London market — refers to the formal mark or endorsement placed on a [[Definition:Slip | slip]] or contract document by an [[Definition:Underwriter | underwriter]] or [[Definition:Syndicate | syndicate]] to signify their acceptance of a share of the risk. The stamp identifies the participating entity and its allocated percentage, and historically it took the physical form of a rubber stamp impression on the broker's slip as it was carried around the Lloyd's underwriting room. More broadly, the term "stamp" also refers to a syndicate's stamp capacity — the maximum [[Definition:Premium | premium]] income a [[Definition:Lloyd's syndicate | Lloyd's syndicate]] is authorized to underwrite in a given [[Definition:Year of account | year of account]], as approved by [[Definition:Lloyd's | Lloyd's]] through its annual capacity-setting process.

⚙️ In the traditional Lloyd's placing process, a [[Definition:Broker | broker]] would present a risk on a slip to the [[Definition:Lead underwriter | lead underwriter]], who would review the terms, set the [[Definition:Premium | price]], and stamp the slip with the syndicate's identifying mark and its percentage line. The broker would then circulate the slip to [[Definition:Following underwriter | following underwriters]], each adding their own stamp until the risk was fully subscribed — a process known as [[Definition:Subscription market | subscription placing]]. While Lloyd's has progressively digitized this workflow through platforms like [[Definition:PPL | PPL (Placing Platform Limited)]] and the broader [[Definition:Blueprint Two | Blueprint Two]] modernization program, the conceptual framework of stamping a line remains central to how business is transacted. Each syndicate's stamp capacity, meanwhile, is a critical measure of its scale: it is set based on the syndicate's [[Definition:Capital | capital]] base and approved [[Definition:Business plan | business plan]], and it constrains the total volume of risk the syndicate can write.

💡 Stamp capacity carries strategic weight well beyond Lloyd's internal mechanics. The total stamp capacity across the Lloyd's market serves as a barometer of the market's aggregate appetite and is closely watched by [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurers]], [[Definition:Broker | brokers]], and industry analysts as an indicator of market conditions — rising total capacity often signals competitive softening, while contractions suggest tightening discipline. For individual syndicates backed by [[Definition:Managing agent | managing agents]] and their [[Definition:Capital provider | capital providers]], securing additional stamp capacity requires demonstrating profitable underwriting and sound [[Definition:Risk management | risk management]] to Lloyd's oversight bodies. Outside Lloyd's, analogous stamping or signing mechanisms exist in other [[Definition:Subscription market | subscription markets]], such as the company markets in London and Singapore, where multiple insurers co-sign a single placement slip, though the specific terminology and process differ.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Lloyd's syndicate]]
* [[Definition:Slip]]
* [[Definition:Subscription market]]
* [[Definition:Lead underwriter]]
* [[Definition:Stamp capacity]]
* [[Definition:Year of account]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Stamp - Revision history

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