7th July 2016

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has joined the Expert Advisory Panel for the sharing economy’s ‘TrustSeal’, which sharing economy’s trade body, Sharing Economy UK (SEUK), launched today.

The TrustSeal stamp of approval is the world’s first kitemark for the sharing economy and will be awarded to sharing economy companies who successfully meet a list of Good Practice Principles.

PwC UK will review all of the applications put together by the companies participating in the pilot programme. It will then report back to the TrustSeal’s newly formed Expert Advisory Panel which has been formed to award and govern companies with the TrustSeal stamp of approval.  BIBA’s Executive Director, Graeme Trudgill, is part of this panel following BIBA’s involvement with the sector.

Graeme said: “The phenomenal rise of the sharing economy brings with it new insurance exposures and BIBA committed in its 2016 Manifesto to work with representatives from the sharing economy.

“Trust is front and centre with the sharing economy and knowing there is insurance protection in place can give confidence to participants. To support this we have produced a guide, updated our list of specialist brokers and supported this new trust seal stamp of approval by joining the Expert Advisory Panel.”

Debbie Wosskow, founding chair of Sharing Economy UK, says, “The TrustSeal has been created to set global standards for sharing economy companies around the world. This is another world first created by the UK, and the principles outlined can be used as a benchmark for companies to follow in other markets.

“Insurance plays a fundamental part in the sharing economy as it can help consumers to feel safe and protected when using relatively new services and businesses.
“Through working with BIBA we’ve taken significant steps forward towards making sure that the sector collaborates with sharing economy companies of all shapes and size and we will continue to push this forward. We’re excited about the rate of change and are looking forward to working with Graeme and his team to continue to make progress, and stamp exemplar insurance companies with the TrustSeal of approval.”

The good practice principles for the TrustSeal that have been outlined by world-class business and sharing economy leaders are:

1. Identity verification
2. Criminal and background checks
3. Education and employment history checks
4. Transparent communications
5. Customer help and support
6. Secure payments, clear pricing and refunds
7. Insurance and guarantees
8. Data protection

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

1. The Sharing Economy UK (‘SEUK’) is the trade body representing and championing the UK’s sharing economy industry – from some of the world’s most influential sharing economy businesses to innovative and industry-defining start-ups, across a spectrum of sectors.

2. The sharing economy involves using Internet technologies to connect distributed groups of people and organisations to make better use of goods, skills, services, capital and spaces, sharing ‘access’ and so reducing the need for ‘ownership’. Sharing economy businesses help individuals to better utilise their assets, helping make downtime uptime.

3. The Expert Advisory Panel is made up of business leaders including Rachel Botsman (sharing economy expert), Graeme Trudgill (Executive Director of BIBA), Alison Hastings (former BBC Trustee and Chair of Editorial Standards Committee), Trevor Pearce (former Director General of the Serious Organised Crime Agency) and Mark Gallagher (Founding Partner of PageField and former Executive Director of ITN, Camelot and ITV).

4. Click here for BIBA’s guide to The Sharing Economy and here for a list of BIBA brokers who can provide cover for the sharing economy.

5. For further information please contact:
   BIBA Press office
   Pam Quinn, Head of Communications
   07496 394471
   020 7397 0223
   quinnp@biba.org.uk

   Leighann Forsyth, Deputy Head of Communications
   BIBA
   020 7397 0223
   forsythl@biba.org.uk

Charlotte Winslett

Sharing Economy UK
07792 352 164

6. About the British Insurance Brokers’ Association
   The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries and their customers.

BIBA membership includes just under 2,000 regulated firms.

General insurance brokers contribute 1% of GDP to the UK economy and BIBA brokers employ more than 100,000 staff. 54% of all general insurance is sold by an insurance broker and they arrange 79% of all commercial insurance business.

Insurance brokers put the client’s interests first, providing advice, access to suitable insurance protection and risk management.

BIBA helps more than 250,000 people a year to Find-A-Broker, both online and via the telephone.

BIBA is the voice of the industry advising members, the regulators, consumer bodies and other stakeholders on key insurance issues.

6th July 2016

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation, has named Sarah Pennells as the 2016 BIBA Journalist of the Year.

The awards showcase journalists who have made a contribution to furthering the understanding of what can often be highly complex insurance issues. National, regional and trade journalists are eligible to enter their work in nine categories in the competition.

Steve White, BIBA’s Chief Executive, acknowledged Sarah’s consistent high quality, clear consumer focus and all round balanced approach.  He said: “Other judges have already highlighted the consistent high quality from Sarah and her researched and well-presented work”.  Sarah is very well respected and has the customer at the heart of her work.

A full listing of winning and highly commended journalists from this year’s BIBA Journalist of the Year Awards follows:

Best Consumer Award

Highly Commended: Joe Finnerty, Auto Express

Winner:  Victoria Bischoff, The Daily Mail

Best Personal Finance Journalist Award

Highly Commended: Leigh Jackson, Which?

Winner:  Sarah Pennells, Freelance

Trade Feature Award

Highly Commended: Catrin Shi, The Insurance Insider

Winner: Charlie Thomas, The Insurance Insider

Trade News Award

Highly Commended: Ida Axling, Insurance Age

Winner: Adam McNestrie, The Insurance Insider

Gary Hyndman Most Promising Newcomer Award

Highly Commended: James Connington, The Daily Telegraph

Winner: Amelia Murray, The Daily Telegraph

Scoop of the year Award

Highly Commended: Rebecca Rutt, This is Money

Winner:  Tom Lloyd, Insurance Times

Best Interview/Profile Award

Highly Commended: John Manley, Insurance Times

Winner: Ben Dyson, Insurance Times

Online Award

Highly Commended: Emmanuel Kenning, Insurance Age

Winner:  Katie Marriner, Post Magazine

Broadcast Award

Highly Commended: Clare Matheson, BBC Radio 5 Live, Business

Winner: Bob Howard, BBC Radio 4, Money Box

Overall

Winner: Sarah Pennells, Freelance

The awards are judged independently by the following industry panel:

Teresa Fritz, Non-Executive Director, BIBA Board
Simon Green, Director of General Insurance & Protection, Supervision Division, Financial Conduct Authority
Mark Weil, Chief Executive for UK and Ireland, Marsh Ltd
Andrew Gibbons ACII MIoD, Managing Director, Mason Owen Financial Services
Heather Wheeler MP
Tim Ryan, Executive Chairman, Ryan Insurance Group Limited
Phil Bayles, Chief Distribution Officer, Aviva
Huw Evans, Director General, ABI
David Robinson, Executive Vice President, European Group & President, UK & Ireland, Chubb

-ends-

Notes to editors

1. For further information please contact:

   BIBA press office:
   Pam Quinn, Head of Communications
   020 7397 0223
   quinnp@biba.org.uk

2. About the British Insurance Brokers’ Association

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries and their customers.

BIBA membership includes just under 2,000 regulated firms.

General insurance brokers contribute 1% of GDP to the UK economy and BIBA brokers employ more than 100,000 staff.

54% of all general insurance is sold by an insurance broker and they arrange 78% of all commercial insurance business.

Insurance brokers put the client’s interests first, providing advice, access to suitable insurance protection and risk management.

BIBA helps more than 250,000 people a year to access insurance protection through its Find a Broker service, both online and via the telephone.

BIBA is the voice of the sector advising members, the regulators, consumer bodies and other stakeholders on key insurance issues.

28th June 2016

28 June 2016

Sat at home last Sunday lunchtime reading the papers (as is the norm in the White household on a Sunday) with music on in the background, my concentration was snapped by that old reggae favourite – Jimmy Cliff’s “There Are More Questions Than Answers”. Unable to regain focus on the papers I started to go over in my mind again the result of the referendum and its consequences for our broker members.

Broking firms had told us that to be in the single market, with passporting rights was very important to them and the early messages post-referendum coming from the entire financial services sector repeated this. But how is this going to sit with freedom of movement which, as far as we understand it, goes hand in hand with entry into the single market from a European Union perspective? Indeed in a German Parliament meeting on Tuesday, Chancellor Merkel emphasised that there are no rights without obligations. In order to enter the single market there has to be free movement (of humans, goods, services and capital).

If the UK leaves the single market then what happens to the plethora of European Directives and Regulations? We are led to believe that EU Regulations will be able to be banished, but as Directives are transposed into national legislation, the Government will be able, if it chooses, to repeal the various pieces of legislation, either in part or in total. But what appetite will it have for such an exercise when its focus will be negotiating new trading agreements? It would be naive of us to think that wholesale removal of Directive-driven rules was on the cards!

Looking at the regulations that affect the insurance sector, it is widely expected that Solvency ll will remain in place, from both a cost of implementation perspective and, more importantly perhaps, from an equivalence perspective – the UK would surely want to be able to demonstrate to others that its insurer solvency requirements were at least the equal of universally-agreed best standards?

As the week has started the list of questions grows but one thing is quite clear – it is very much “business as usual”. The FCA was quick to point out that the UK remains in the EU until such time as an exit has been formally agreed and put into effect and, in the meantime, all the rules and regulations from the EU which the FCA has implemented remain in force.  This message was very much at the forefront of the discussions we had with Andrew Jones MP, Minister at the Department For Transport today and one that we are now repeatedly hearing.

The process of ‘brexiting’ will take time but negotiations will start as soon as Article 50 is triggered.  BIBA is gearing up for this process to help ensure our members’ interests are protected as best we can – and for us, protecting members’ interests is very much ‘business as usual’!

20th June 2016

Ahead of polling day on 23 June, Lord Hunt of Wirral, the chairman of the British Insurance Brokers’ Association, has asked its members to make their vote count and to consider carefully the benefits to the insurance broking sector of remaining in Europe.
Whilst remaining apolitical, BIBA has stated publicly that it believes unequivocally that the British insurance broking sector would be better off remaining in the EU. This position was reached as a result of discussion with its members. The view that a British exit from the EU would be disadvantageous to the insurance broking sector is founded upon a number of factors:
1. It would lead to uncertainty for businesses, leading to an adverse impact on investment, customer groups and the insurance market overall.
2. The existing system of insurance companies ‘passporting’ into the UK could cease, potentially leading to a serious reduction in choice for UK consumers.
3. It would seriously damage the ability of brokers to place business on behalf of clients domiciled elsewhere within the EU.
4. Brokers need to be able to write suitable policies – and the EU freedom of services provision is highly beneficial.
5. Europe provides access to a far larger pool of skills and knowledge than the UK alone, which is of great value.
Speaking about the referendum, BIBA Chairman Lord Hunt of Wirral said; “The opposing sides of the debate have filled our press and media with a plethora of claims and counter claims, some of which are clearly unsupported by the available evidence.
“I am firmly in the ‘remain camp’. Quite apart from the wider, powerful arguments about peace and prosperity in Europe and the need for British engagement and leadership at a dangerous time for the world, I believe that remaining in the EU would be a vote for business stability over uncertainty. A ‘remain’ vote would stimulate investment and boost confidence that we will be able to continue to trade freely under the EU freedom of services provision. That, in turn, would benefit both us within the sector and also our customers.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. For further information please contact:
BIBA press office:
Pam Quinn, Communications Manager
020 7397 0223
quinnp@biba.org.uk
2. About the British Insurance Brokers’ Association
The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries and their customers.
BIBA membership includes just under 2,000 regulated firms.
General insurance brokers contribute 1% of GDP to the UK economy and BIBA brokers employ more than 100,000 staff. 54% of all general insurance is sold by an insurance broker and they arrange 79% of all commercial insurance business.
Insurance brokers put the client’s interests first, providing advice, access to suitable insurance protection and risk management.
BIBA helps more than 250,000 people a year to Find-A-Broker, both online and via the telephone.
BIBA is the voice of the industry advising members, the regulators, consumer bodies and other stakeholders on key insurance issues.

9th June 2016

BIBA was delighted to receive a call from the office of Lord Hill, the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, advising us that the European Union Commission intends to put forward our preferred solution to the problem for motor insurance resulting from the ruling on the Vnuk case.

At the 2016 BIBA conference in Manchester BIBA CEO, Steve White said; “BIBA has been working with interested parties in the insurance industry and motor sports sector since the judgement which had the potential to have far reaching implications. If not resolved it brings into the scope of compulsory motor insurance some 43 different types of vehicle that previously didn’t need insurance including those used off the public roads for motor sport.

“BIBA has worked with the Department for Transport, our European federation BIPAR and Commissioner Hill’s office to seek a surgical amendment to the Motor Insurance Directive to redefine the directive to apply to only those vehicles used in traffic.  The fact that this is now being put forward in a European Commission roadmap for better regulation is a big win for us and we look forward to the outcome.”

BIBA’s 2016 manifesto called for a surgical amendment to be made to the Motor Insurance Directive to exclude motor sports and other anomalies from the directive and mitigate the unintended consequences of the judgement and this is the first step in fulfilling this call.

Graeme Trudgill, Executive Director at BIBA concluded; “This has involved a lot of stakeholder co-operation including the ABI, the Motorsport Associations, BIPAR and the MIB and we are extremely pleased to get this far. There is still a lot to do to get this over the finish line, but we will do all we can over the coming months support the progress of this initiative.”

Notes to editors

As a result of an accident involving a tractor on farmland in Slovenia Mr Vnuk suffered injury. It was subsequently found that there was no insurance cover in place to provide compensation. The case was taken through the courts and ultimately it was ruled that motor vehicle ‘use’ should mean ‘any use of a vehicle that is consistent with the normal function of that vehicle’.  The implication of the ruling for the UK is that vehicles such as, sit-on mowers, fork-lift trucks and golf buggies cannot simply be covered, as they can be now, under a public liability policy, but will require a Motor Insurance Road Traffic Act cover. Similarly, motor racing events will require competitor-to-competitor liability insurance – an area of cover that does not currently exist for this type of event. In liaison with stakeholders this issue was recognised by the European Commission which has been developing an amendment to the Motor Insurance Directive to neutralise the damaging effect of the judgement.  This is now confirmed by the announcement from Lord Hill’s (the EU Commissioner) office.

• For further information please contact:

BIBA press office:

Pam Quinn, Communications Manager

020 7397 0223

quinnp@biba.org.uk

• About the British Insurance Brokers’ Association

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) is the UK’s leading general insurance intermediary organisation representing the interests of insurance brokers, intermediaries and their customers.

BIBA membership includes just under 2,000 regulated firms.

General insurance brokers contribute 1% of GDP to the UK economy and BIBA brokers employ more than 100,000 staff. 54% of all general insurance is sold by an insurance broker and they arrange 79% of all commercial insurance business.

Insurance brokers put the client’s interests first, providing advice, access to suitable insurance protection and risk management.

BIBA helps more than 250,000 people a year to Find-A-Broker, both online and via the telephone.

BIBA is the voice of the industry advising members, the regulators, consumer bodies and other stakeholders on key insurance issues.