Lloyd's of London develops action plan to address sexual harassment

LONDON (Reuters) - Lloyd's of London has developed a plan of action to address reports of sexual harassment, it said on Tuesday.

A Bloomberg News report last week highlighted issues of sexual harassment in the 330-year old insurance market, where business is still mainly done face-to-face.

Lloyd's will add two women, Fiona Luck and Vicky Carter, to its nominations committee, succeeding David Manning and Charles Franks, it said in a statement.

It also said it had made a commitment to hear the accounts of the women in the Bloomberg article in a safe and confidential space.

Lloyd's said it had introduced a number of policies, including sanctions and potential life bans on entering its City tower, to "create better understanding and awareness of the issues".

The specialist market, which insures a range of complex risks from oil rigs to footballers' legs, started life in Edward Lloyd's coffee house in 1688.

Inga Beale, the first woman CEO of Lloyd's and a champion of diversity, stepped down last year after the market suffered a two billion-pound ($2.64 billion) loss in 2017. She was replaced by John Neal in October, 2018.

"It has been distressing to hear about the experiences of women in the Lloyd’s market," Neal said in the statement.

"I am determined that Lloyd’s offers a safe and inclusive working environment for everyone.”

Lloyd's publishes its 2018 annual results on Wednesday and is expected to outline a new strategy to improve performance.

($1 = 0.7575 pounds)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Lawrence White and Ed Osmond)