‘Poor behaviours’ tarnishing industry reputation – LMA’s Cameron

News revealing an internal investigation at Lloyd’s into the conduct of John Neal while he was CEO of the re/insurance market has led the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA) chief executive Sheila Cameron to comment.

Neal had been due to join AIG as its next president, but a statement from AIG revealed he would not be joining the insurer in December as previously expected “by mutual agreement due to personal circumstances”.

The details of those personal circumstances have been reported in recent days, led by this Wall Street Journal article.

“The widely reported news of alleged failures of process and inappropriate behaviour by former senior individuals at Lloyd’s, first published in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, is upsetting,” said Sheila Cameron, CEO of the LMA, representing the 55 managing agencies at Lloyd’s, commenting via LinkedIn.

“It is also hurtful to all of us who love and care for the community that makes up this market, and for the many good people who will feel our industry’s reputation has been tarnished by the alleged poor behaviours,” Cameron said.

The internal probe at Lloyd’s is reportedly investigating whether internal governance failures took place, particularly in the appointment of former director of corporate affairs Rebekah Clement, alleged to have had a romantic relationship with Neal at the time.

Clement was appointed to the newly created role during Neal’s tenure as CEO, directly to him directly.

Patrick Tiernan, Neal’s successor as CEO, has not replaced Clement after she moved on in June 2025, one month after Neal left Lloyd’s.

Neal had announced in January 2025 that he would step down as CEO of Lloyd’s, and had been due to join Aon’s board before reversing course in July to join AIG.

“Let me say firstly that the LMA welcomes the announcement from Lloyd’s about its investigation into governance, which will be supported by a law firm,” Cameron said.

Lloyd’s said in a statement to sister title Insurance Times that chair Sir Charles Roxburgh ”commissioned an independent fact-finding review, to ensure the corporation’s processes were robust and fully aligned with regulatory expectations”.

A spokesperson added: “That work identified that our internal processes had not been fully adhered to in respect of a prior matter. In recent days, new information has emerged. In response Lloyd’s has launched an investigation with the support of a law firm.”

Cameron (pictured) continued: “We need to allow Sir Charles Roxburgh and Patrick Tiernan the time to complete this investigation and in the renewed spirit of transparency, we look forward to seeing these results made public and concrete actions taken on the back of the findings,” she continued.

The investigation refers to the period before Roxburgh became chairman in May 2025, taking over the role from his predecessor Bruce Carnegie-Brown.

Cameron added: “Under the new Lloyd’s leadership, there has been a refreshing commitment to behavioural change and openness. We call on Lloyd’s to accelerate their commitment to this change.”

Patrick Tiernan, who previously served as chief of markets at Lloyd’s, published a statement when he took over as chief executive in June.

Titled “It starts with openness”, Tiernan chose to underline the importance of trust in the market upon his appointment to CEO, replacing Neal.

“We will foster an open and inclusive culture that attracts the best and brightest talent available. Our leaders will uphold the right values and standards,” Tiernan said.

“And our colleagues will be empowered to deliver at pace with the freedom to make honest mistakes,” the new Lloyd’s CEO added.

In 2019 the market was rocked by a different kind of scandal, when Bloomberg published an article alleging widespread sexual harassment and bad behaviour at Lloyd’s.

Cameron said in her statement today: “Huge cultural and structural changes have happened since the 2019 Bloomberg report into insurance market culture.

“We must reaffirm our market wide commitment to cultural change at every level in order to protect our market’s reputation,” she said.

“We have come so far on this journey – let’s not allow the alleged actions of the few to deter the will of the many to make this market a better place,” Cameron added.