Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) is set to launch Toredo, a new web-based platform for transacting specialised trade credit insurance.

The platform, which is set to go live this week, will enable underwriters, brokers and clients – banks and corporates – to buy and sell insurance capacity with greater speed and efficiency, bringing sought-after technological innovation to the insurance industry.

Beyond operating the platform, LSM will provide underwriting capacity to Toredo. Other capacity will come from an as yet unnamed Lloyd’s of London consortium, details of which will soon be announced.

“Toredo will provide real efficiency savings by giving brokers and clients greater visibility over underwriter risk appetite, capacity and pricing as well as closing transactions with much greater speed,” says Peter Sprent, head of LSM’s global financial risks team.

The platform will initially cover short-term (under two years) trade finance transactions, providing the likes of LSM and its consortium partners access to a class of business that they may not have otherwise been able to write efficiently.

As a web-based system, it will provide a global coverage – although the insured will have to be in a jurisdiction covered by Lloyd’s.

“This is a great way to allow everyone to work more efficiently. Now no one has to run across the road to Lloyd’s of London to find capacity – it’s all on the system,” says Chris Hall, who joined LSM as senior underwriter from Lloyds Bank last month to lead the rollout of Toredo.

LSM will be looking for brokers to access the platform on behalf of their clients. Brokers will be able to log onto the platform and enter the required fields: the type of transaction, amount, tenor and the price their client wants.

The system, which Hall says is “pre-loaded” with 70 jurisdictions, 300 to 400 bank obligors and “significant capacity”, will then show what capacity is available for that transaction.

“If it ticks all the boxes in the system then we can choose to bind that policy electronically within minutes, if not seconds,” Hall explains. “And if it doesn’t, the transaction will be flagged and we can have a chat – so there’s still human underwriter involvement. There is ability to flex this: the entire point is that it’s meant to be efficient.”

Hall adds that up until now the initiative has been very much a “team effort” between LSM and its consortium partners.