Lloyd's critic ejected from meeting

PERSISTENT Lloyd's critic and former Name Sally Noel has been ejected from the insurer's annual general meeting after raising her long-standing claims that she was duped into a loss-making syndicate and deceived about mounting losses that eventually cost her £150,000.

The former model claims it was not made clear to her before she became a Name that she would be liable for claims arising from the time before she joined Lloyd's.

She used the meeting to make those allegations to Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene, Insurance Times has reported.

A Lloyd's spokeswoman said Levene made it clear to Noel that the meeting was not an appropriate place to raise such allegations. He said he was aware of her complaints but they had not been substantiated in court.

Noel was asked to leave the meeting and was escorted from the room by security staff when she persisted with her claims.

Lloyd's until recently received most of its funding from Names, who had unlimited liability to the losses they could incur. It said Noel was welcome to pursue her complaint through legal channels.

She is attempting to restart a £2m lawsuit against Sir David Rowland, Lloyd's chairman from 1993 to 1997, that was thrown out by the High Court.

Lloyd's has been pursuing Noel through the courts for years over the hundreds of pounds' worth of premiums it claims are due for Equitas, a ring-fenced scheme it set up to settle all outstanding liabilities.

Many Names were forced into bankruptcy during the 1990s after mounting losses. The Lloyd's market has now moved primarily to a limited liability system.