The change in surplus-lines premium leadership has more to do with AIG losing business, not Lloyd's gaining it. Others have nipped away at AIG.

No matter who holds the top spot, Lloyd's and AIG accounted for more than one-third of surplus-lines direct premiums in the U.S. in 2010. AIG premiums declined 13 percent compared to 2009.

Watkins says he and several others from Lloyd's 35-employee U.S. operations met with numerous brokers at the NAPSLO convention to continue its public relations mission—convincing people that Lloyd's is actually “beautifully simple” and “not as complicated as people believe.”

Other than insuring wild risks including the body parts of celebrities and athletes, Watkins reminds us that Lloyd's was one of the largest insurers of the World Trade Center and paid “a big part of the loss” related to the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster.

The head of North American operations does not want to remind potential Lloyd's users of its tremendous history.

“I want to avoid death by Power Point,” he says. “If you want to know about it [the history], you can read plenty about it on our website. We just want you to consider us when you are looking to cover risk. It doesn't matter that Lloyd's started with ships 300 years ago.”

Watkins continues, “We see more risks in a week than any carrier sees in a month. Our syndicates are underwriters to the core. They love to take bets on risk and they are very smart about it. Our market has been providing answers to unsolvable problems.”

Watkins says Lloyd's continues to conduct business with brokers face-to-face. He is aware of movements in some surplus segments to skip brokers but that is “not the future of Lloyd's,” Watkins says. Electronic exchanges are looking at commoditizing the business, he adds.

“You need to know you can trust me—that I'm not going to bring garbage to you,” Watkins says. “You know I'm going to bring you something you want to write. Those interactions and relationships—that trust—comes with face-to-face meetings with brokers.”

Pricing levels in surplus lines are not growing, but they are “staying put,” says Watkins, who identifies cyber risk and renewable energy as two emerging opportunities for the surplus lines industry.