The decision to end the Dive In Festival has raised doubts about how the insurance industry will match the global influence of, and support for, the groundbreaking culture and talent programme. Joshua Geer reports
Lloyd's of London's decision to retire its flagship Dive In Festival after the 2026 edition has been met with a mixture of confusion, constructive criticism and condemnation, raising questions about the corporation's global leadership role in attracting talent to the insurance industry.
Dive In was launched in 2015 as part of the Inclusion@Lloyd's initiative, during Inga Beale's tenure as chief executive.
Initially branded as a "festival for diversity and inclusion in insurance", by 2025 it had evolved into a global programme focusing on "culture and talent", recording more than 33,500 registrations from nearly 100 countries, with over 100 events held across more than 30 countries and delivered in 60 languages. The model relied heavily on local organisers within firms, supported by central coordination.
Lloyd's said it will replace Dive In with a new programme for culture, skills and talent to be developed "with the market, for the market" and will move away from a single annual event towards a continuous strategy. A consultation on the new approach will run from May to July.
Why the change?
Lloyd's did not explain why it wanted to replace Dive In, but money is not the reason. InsuranceERM understands that Dive In raised more than £800,000 in sponsorship from companies last year, who would pay each around £30,000 per year. Those familiar with the initiative said it was effectively self-sustaining, with sponsorship revenues covering operational costs, including staffing and delivery.
Sheila Cameron, chief executive of the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA), said in a LinkedIn post that the move is "not a cost saving exercise" but rather determining how best to use the "money, time and effort" currently invested in Dive In.
Undoubtedly there has been political pressure, notably from the US, for organisations to drop any initiative related to diversity, equity and inclusion. But the grassroots of the industry is clearly supportive of Dive In, if the dozens of comments on social media are anything to go by.
"A ridiculous decision on an event that truly celebrated diversity and was groundbreaking for the industry," commented one senior PR manager at Liberty Specialty Markets – a sponsor of Dive In.
"This feels a retrograde step and this is disappointing," added a chief lawyer at another Dive In sponsor Marsh.
Meanwhile a director at WTW – also a Dive In Sponsor – said: "Is there not a way for all of us collectively to continue on this very important event? I am sure there has to be a way!"
Several events at last year's Dive In were disrupted by pro-Palestine and climate protestors, generating the kind of headlines that Lloyd's and the sponsors didn't want to see. But it would be excessive to scrap an entire festival for want of better security and vetting of attendees.
New programme
The LMA's Cameron added the market has made "huge progress" on culture in recent years, citing improvements in survey results on workplace experience, but there remains a need to address a significant talent challenge, with projections indicating that only 7% of the workforce could be under 30 within a decade.
She said the consultation process would consider whether alternative approaches could deliver greater impact than a global event. "For example, would we be better off hiring 200 young apprentices into our market through a structured programme run by Lloyd's, targeting those from diverse backgrounds who do not typically join the market?" she said.
However, it is not clear whether the funding model that supported Dive In would translate to a different structure.
InsuranceERM understands that sponsorship for the festival was closely linked to its global reach and its ability to engage employees across international organisations.
The scale of participation and the visibility of a coordinated global event were key factors in attracting support, raising questions over whether a more localised or differently structured initiative would generate comparable levels of funding.
Dive In's 2026 supporters
The 2026 festival is being supported by a variety of re/insurers, brokers and law firms.
Seventeen firms are listed as "global festival partners": AIG, Antares, Aon, Arch, Asta, Aviva, Axa, Clyde & Co, Fidelis Insurance Group, Gallagher, Liberty Mutual, Lloyd's, Markel, Marsh, Moody's, RenaissanceRe and WTW.
There are also six "supporter partners": Axis, Alliant, Everest, KPMG, Lockton Re and RGA.
In previous years, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Lockton, Everest and Canopius have supported Dive In.
Abandoning global leadership
While Lloyd's created the initiative, market participants note that the festival's delivery has extended well beyond the Corporation itself. Its reliance on a wide network of volunteer organisers and participating firms has contributed to a sense of shared ownership across the market.
Nick Line, currently chair of Dive In and of Inclusion@Lloyd's wrote on LinkedIn yesterday, that the success of Dive In had been driven by the London Market's ability to work collectively, noting that no single firm could have achieved its global reach alone.
While not directly criticising the decision to end the festival, he urged market participants to engage in the consultation on its replacement, emphasising that continued collaboration would be essential to maintaining progress on culture and inclusion.
But by pulling the plug, Lloyd's could be seen as abandoning its global leadership on the topic.
Jason Groves, the festival's former chair, writing on LinkedIn, said he was "saddened" by the decision and highlighted the role Dive In had played in bringing the industry together.
He said its success lay in "building a grassroots movement, with broad and global industry participation" and that it had "never been just about the London Market". He added that nearly 200,000 people had taken part in more than 1,000 events over its lifetime, many organised by volunteers.
Groves also said: "I'm proud that we were among the first in the industry to talk openly about mental health, social mobility, faith, neurodiversity, menopause, and the role of carers. We vigorously promoted the idea that women have just as much chance to gain leadership roles as men and sought to boost the visibility of those from minority backgrounds and with disabilities."
Dive In version 2
A spokesperson for Lloyd's told InsuranceERM it would "work in partnership with the market" to design the new programme, adding that sponsors, brokers, managing agents and other stakeholders will be invited to help shape a "new global programme" through consultation.
That may leave space for a new festival to emerge, or for elements of Dive In to find a different home under a new organisation or social enterprise structure.
However, it could be difficult to revive the Dive In concept under different ownership. Control of the festival rests with its current organisers, including ownership of infrastructure required to deliver it, such as global systems capable of managing events and attendance across multiple time zones and languages. This presents a practical challenge for any attempt to transfer or replicate the model outside the Corporation. And without the backing of the world's largest insurance market, it may struggle to regain momentum.=
For now, the consultation will determine the next phase of the market's approach to culture and talent. What remains uncertain is whether that approach will replicate not only the intent of Dive In, but also the global reach and funding model that supported it.