At the Lloyd's of London "Meet the Market" event in San Francisco on Oct. 7, CEO Inga Beale discussed the firm's history in the Golden City as well as local risks and innovations in her opening speech to attendees—which included Lloyd's syndicates, coverholders and MGAs. She later sat down with National Underwriter P&C's managing editor Melissa Hillebrand for an exclusive Q&A.

Melissa Hillebrand: I wanted to discuss the Lloyd's City Risk Index, which analyzes the potential economic impact of 18 natural and man-made threats on more than 300 worldwide cities. How long did this project take to implement? How do you see brokers or risk managers using this new resource?

Inga Beale: It took three years to put together, based off of the work from a lot of researchers. What we want to do—and it's not just about scaring everybody—it's about encouraging a dialogue, and recognition that the risks are changing. And so it's not just risk managers, brokers and businesses, but we also want to have dialogue with governments. And I actually have had some interest from city councils who have said, "We never thought about this aspect, or this affecting our city before." That's what we really want to spark, to have people start having a dialogue of "Oh gosh, these are the threats out there. What do we need to do to build resilience into our cities, our businesses, and how can insurance help?"