Lloyd’s of London offers to insure NHS for unexpected costs such as pandemic

Insurance market willing to give government world-first deal and bespoke flood and drought cover

The head of Lloyd’s of London has offered to strike a world-first deal with the UK government to help the NHS meet unexpected increases in costs triggered by major events such as another pandemic.

John Neal, who runs the world’s largest insurance market, where 76 firms operate, floated the possibility of providing bespoke insurance contracts to the struggling health service, as well as government cover for floods or droughts caused by the climate crisis, when he met the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, for the first time last month.