Facilitised business is a critical element of specialty market placement, allowing brokers and underwriters to efficiently manage high-volume, complex risks under pre-agreed terms. Facilities – whether binding authorities, master covers, or lineslips – help streamline placement, providing a structured way to handle multiple risks without the need for individual negotiations each time. 

However, despite their importance, digitising facilities has long been a challenge for the London Market. Legacy processes, fragmented workflows, and a lack of purpose-built technology have made it difficult to transition these placements online – until the launch of PlacingHub. 

PlacingHub is the only electronic placement platform designed to fully support facilities, offering brokers and underwriters a seamless way to manage and execute these agreements in a digital environment. But what goes on behind the scenes to make this happen? 

Meet the team behind PlacingHub’s Facilities at Ebix Europe – the experts ensuring that placing facilities on PlacingHub is as smooth and intuitive as possible. In this interview, we explore why facilities are such a key differentiator, how the team supports market participants, and what’s next for digital facility placement.

The four-strong team is made up of Karen Chapman, PlacingHub Product Owner, Claire Jackson, Senior Developer, Tammy Phyall, Training Manager, and Sophie Luxton, Lead Support Analyst.

It all starts with understanding

Before a line of code was written for PlacingHub, Karen, calling on her two decades of experience as a placing broker and many years of designing complex risk placement functionality with Ebix Europe, stepped in to decode the intricate web of business requirements. She translated detailed industry knowledge into a clear blueprint. As she puts it: “Understanding the business before the build was crucial – the logic had to be watertight before Claire could make it work in code.”

Claire then took that understanding and, with her decades of experience as a developer, made it real. It’s fair to say that this was the most challenging development Claire has ever worked on: “This, coupled with the Correction workflow, was probably the most complex piece of coding I’ve ever experienced.”

Her mission was to develop a platform that wasn’t just functional but flexible enough to accommodate the nuances of each individual facility. In facilities, unlike Open Market processes, a declaration can behave differently depending on rules like participant authority and line size. Claire and her team’s work ensured that automation didn’t mean compromise. Practitioners remain in full control, reducing risk while enhancing efficiency.

One of the biggest challenges was the platform’s performance. When a leader binds a declaration, the system must instantly determine if they’re binding on behalf of others, calculate stamp percentages, apply conditions, send notifications, and trigger agreement workflows – all in the background, without slowing the user down. Claire’s solution? A robust, scalable system that works as fast as the Market needs it to (and it’ll go even faster than that if you want!).

Gaining an edge

Facilities agreed outside the platform can be backloaded. Backloading a facility is an efficient way of recording a contract and the participant roles on a Facility which has already been placed on paper. It helps avoid duplication of effort and confusion if an Underwriter has already put their lines down. Likewise with the Facility Amendments function, it allows the broker to copy the entire structure of the original and make the necessary tweaks without having to place the facility again.

Training that empowers

With the system built, Tammy ensures clients can hit the ground running. Having started her London Market career as a practitioner in Facilities claims, she brings passion and real-world insight to her training. “Facilities are crucial for accessing a wide range of business in the London Market,” she says. And to make sure our users know how to get the best out of PlacingHub, “We provide impactful learning experiences that combine deep insurance knowledge with technical know-how – from interactive sessions to user-friendly videos.”

Sophie and her team, meanwhile, make sure everything keeps running smoothly. As she explains, “Facilities can be large, complex and time sensitive. Our support team understands not just the technology, but the insurance process itself – and that’s what makes our help truly effective.”  So when a PlacingHub user needs some help, a call to Sophie’s team is answered in about 4 seconds and the problem resolved, on average, in about 3 minutes. 

A platform that sets Ebix Europe apart

The Facility process absolutely lends itself to electronic trading. At Ebix Europe we recognise trading risks on a facility is incredibly advantageous, potentially enhancing terms and conditions, securing coverage quickly and efficiently, providing contract certainty for a Client, and keeping operational costs to a minimum for both Broker and Underwriter.

 

But it can only do that if the placing platform’s efficiency and speed are key. Performance, functionality, and usability without a doubt set us apart.

Our system is always evolving too, and we continually look to add new features. For example, our recently-launched Data first option means we can now build digital Facilities and Declarations.

 

This is more than just a technical achievement. It’s a testament to collaboration, expertise, and the incredible results that happen when talented people come together as a team and lead the way.

Stay tuned for Part 2, coming soon…

Get in touch with the PlacingHub team for a demo: https://ebixeurope.co.uk/products/placinghub/