The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has launched a new publication to provide clarification to brokers on the issue of limitation of liability when advising clients.
The new publication entitled “Facts about limitation of liability” was driven by BIBA’s London Market Region Committee (LMRC) and aims to help brokers to manage their financial risk and ensure that it is proportionate to client engagement. Legal opinion was sought from Lawyers Beachcroft LLP in order to produce the publication which provides background on the regulatory and legal position, information on what a limitation of liability clause or agreement might contain and what it should not contain.
The publication is the first major piece of work to emerge from BIBA’s LMRC, which is chaired by Ken Davidson from BIBA member Crispin Speers and Partners. LMRC set a major objective in its 2010 business plan to achieve greater clarification on the practice that many brokers, and other professions, already undertake. Ken Davidson said: “This is a very complicated subject fraught with potential pitfalls for brokers, with both legal and regulatory restrictions. We have sought legal opinion and I’m delighted that LMRC has been able to drive this forward and has really hit the ground running.” Amanda Blanc, Towergate Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer, added: “It’s about time there was clarity on this subject. This is really about brokers putting their own risk management advice into practice whilst still providing their clients with a good level of protection.”
Tim Coles, Chief Executive of Howden Insurance Brokers and BIBA LMRC member, commented: “This demonstrates the value of BIBA to its members and to the industry as a whole; it’s the first document of its kind and should allow brokers to understand the legal, ethical and financial risks that are faced when advising a client.” Vannessa Young, BIBA London Market Region Secretariat, concluded: “This important LMRC document is in direct response to members concerns on a key subject that they need to adhere to from a regulatory and legal perspective and will be managed as part of BIBA’s Professional Indemnity Initiative.” As part of the BIBA Professional Indemnity Initiative, there are three BIBA accredited brokers who can help members with issues raised in this document – Lockton Companies International Limited, Towergate Partnership Limited and Howden Insurance Brokers Limited.
