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📋 Slip (insurance) is a document used in insurance and reinsurance markets — most iconically at Lloyd's of London — to present the essential terms of a proposed risk to prospective underwriters and to record their agreement to participate in writing it. The slip functions as a concise summary of the risk: it identifies the insured, describes the subject matter, states the proposed premium, limits, deductibles, and key conditions, and provides space for each underwriter to indicate the percentage share of the risk they are willing to accept by "scratching" (signing) the document. Although the slip originated in the London subscription market centuries ago, equivalent documentation practices exist in other major subscription markets and reinsurance hubs worldwide.

🖊️ In the traditional London market workflow, an insurance broker prepares the slip and presents it to a lead underwriter, who reviews the risk, negotiates terms, and — if satisfied — stamps the slip with their syndicate or company stamp, initials, and the percentage line they are taking. The broker then circulates the slip to following underwriters until the risk is fully subscribed to 100% (or the desired placement percentage is reached). Each underwriter's scratch on the slip constitutes a binding commitment, and the slip itself has historically served as evidence of the contract until a formal policy wording is issued. The London market has progressively digitized this process: the Placing Platform Limited (PPL) and subsequent electronic platforms have introduced digital slips and electronic signing, reducing the physical movement of paper through the Lloyd's underwriting room. However, the conceptual framework — a single document that travels from underwriter to underwriter, accumulating commitments — remains the backbone of subscription market placement.

📌 Far from being a mere administrative artifact, the slip is central to how risk is distributed and priced in wholesale insurance markets. Because each underwriter on the slip independently evaluates the risk before committing capital, the slip mechanism creates a form of decentralized peer review: the lead underwriter's terms set a benchmark, but following markets can negotiate amendments or decline to participate, providing real-time market feedback on pricing adequacy and risk appetite. Disputes can arise when the final policy wording deviates from the terms summarized on the slip, which is why market bodies such as the Lloyd's Market Association and the International Underwriting Association have invested heavily in standardized slip templates and model wordings. For insurtech firms and market modernization initiatives, digitizing the slip process — from creation through placement to binding — represents one of the highest-impact opportunities to reduce frictional costs, accelerate speed-to-bind, and improve data quality across the insurance value chain.

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