The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has urged the government to address the issues besetting the industry and consumers including tax hikes, fraud and regulation.
In a letter ahead of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month, BIBA demanded anew that there be no further increase in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) following the recent hike in October.
BIBA chief executive Steve White said the extra revenue raised by the IPT hike should be spent for flood prevention and maintenance projects.
“This would lead to job generation and promote flood resilience which will, in turn, ensure the long-term ability of a soon to be available BIBA commercial insurance solution to provide flood cover for businesses,” White said.
On insurance fraud, BIBA cited previous government commitments to reform the compensation system for personal injuries.
BIBA lamented that after several months, there has been “no tangible progress” with the recommendations and an implementing legislative vehicle is still lacking. This has contributed to continued increases in motor insurance premiums, the trade group claimed.
The industry body also pressed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to speed up the granting of insurance trading permissions to help promote innovation in the financial services sector.
“In recent months, brokers building creative new solutions in growing markets such as the Sharing Economy and Fintech have expressed their frustrations at the difficulty in becoming FCA authorised or in accessing funding,” said BIBA executive director Graeme Trudgill.
“Insurance brokers are by their nature innovative solution seekers and we call for changes to be made to expedite the granting of permissions for insurance and to promote to the availability of funding in the fintech arena.”
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